New World Romance
by NekoXyN
Summary: continuation of 'After the Thrills', after the two year time jump, Jiru's story continues...
1. 2Y

_Scroll 1: __2Y_

Standing on a hill within a meadow of waving blue-green grass, the five-foot tall (one inch shy) woman stared across the distance and glowered at the orange-suited white polar mammal who stared right back at her. Sliding her lagoon-hazel eyes left, she took in the eight-foot tall brute who looked strong enough to demolish the hill she stood on merely by swinging his massive arm. His looks – fierce face, a thin lipped snarl showing teeth the size of her two-inch thumb, bristly stiff hair shooting into the air, calculating eyes that were locked on her - counted towards intimidation points; but she was far from being cowed into fear by large-men.

Glancing right gave the dark-chocolate haired female a view of two shorter men; both their bodies sliding into a fighting stance. Both wore their white crew jumpsuits; their pirate insignia sewn over the heart. The slightly taller man glared back at her from behind his green and red lipped hat. His partner gave his handsome smirk from underneath his own hat; a black and white cap with the word 'penguin' printed on the front.

She knew she would defeat them all and still have a decent work-out. It was their missing leader who had her concerned. The spot-sporting, nodachi-toting and very dangerous(ly sexy) pirate captain was nowhere to been seen. Which was a bit of a problem; given his unique DF power had a larger radius than when they first met. The closest hiding place was a tree sixteen feet behind her. He could be watching her from behind that tree this very instant. Given his M.O.D, she always had to keep an eye out for his trickery. He loved to use his Room Shambles on her and pluck her body parts to tease.

"Give up, miss Jiru-san." The orange-wearing polar bear broke the verbal silence and took a step forward. "I would hate for you to get hurt and end up staying with us longer."

"Tch, you would like that, wouldn't you, Bepo-chan?" The woman laughed easily with her ursine nakama of twenty-four months. "You've trained me well in martial arts, I wouldn't want you to get hurt either."

"So sorry, Miss Jiru-chan." Bepo the polar bear gave her a low, apologetic bow and looked shamed. It had taken her six months to get used to the submissive, apologetic streaks in the bear. But the two years she spent with the bear and the pirate crew had been well worth the tragic downs and euphoric ups the Mugiwara treasure hunter experienced. Two years on the day today. Of course, the exact reunion date was seven days away. She had started counting when she had been separated from Luffy, which unlike the rest of the Mugiwaras, she hadn't gone through that three days and nights Repel-flight that Kuma had done to them.

The treasure hunter of the Mugiwaras had cut short her Kuma-induced repel-trip and ended up being saved by Trafalgar Law. She had been on the brink of that notorious cosmic chance, and her fate could have gone literally ANYWHERE. With rage driving her actions, she somehow managed to use her Reiki powers to create a condensed wall of air to halt her repelled flight and landed only groves away from the fight on Shaboady Grove 14; and thus, sliced that infinite chance-choice down to two paths: being kidnapped by the blood-lusting pirate known as Eustass Kidd, or crewing with the smoking hot bad-boy Trafalgar Law.

XXXXX

_Flashback:_

_Flying through the air as her light-induced blindness quickly healed itself, Jiru felt her body grow hot with rage. How DARE that bear bastard do this to Luffy, repelling his crew and her alike. Poor Luffy was probably worried sick about her, Zoro, Brooke, Sanji and Usoppu; all of whom the treasure hunter figured were in the same situation as her – flying through the air via Kuma's repel-power. The thought of Zoro, Usoppu, Sanji and Brooke being alive only brushed the back of her mind. She twitched as she reached out with her senses and felt another 'Kuma' energy._

_She snarled and lashed out with her Reiki power, grabbing onto that energy with her own willpower. She had slammed down onto familiar ground – the white noise and Shaboady bubbles still doing their natural thing. When she had struggled to her feet, she was met with another battle._

_In front of her stood a rather battered Pacifista, and behind her were two pirate crews: the Kidd and Heart pirates. Both sides looked haggard, and still fought. She, however, did not care to analyze the how, why or what of the situation and focused on her anger: the fake Kuma. Her reaction had surprised her as she lifted her arm and Reiki-formed a large sharp blade. Using that condensed air-energy blade she proceeded to slice through the cyborg's strong body and took the cyborg out of the fight. (It was later learned that she hadn't quite destroyed the cyborg, but only managed to immobilize the Pacifista; thus buying time for both pirate crews to escape. The Marines upped her bounty nonetheless, seeing how dangerous she had become.)_

_Her actions had awe-stunned the pirates behind her and the first one to approach her was Eustass Kidd. He ordered her to join his crew. Her anger was cooling off and the pain of her left foot was cutting through the mind-haze. The brazen red-head Super Nova was turned on by her slice and dice act and wanted that kind of temper and power under his command. Her answer would have gotten her sliced, killed or worse – she had slapped the leering pirate captain across the face – had she not been rescued by the other pirate captain._

_It was Law who came to her rescue, pressing against her back as he bodily claimed her in need of medical attention. Her foot was looking quite terrible and numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises were visible on her body; bleeding sluggishly. With Law's quick, smooth words, Jiru had left the grove with her hands and head still attached._

XXXXX

To this day – two years later – she still could not fully remember that fight or explain how she managed to slice through a cyborg Pacifista.

Today, her temporary captain, the smoking hot Trafalgar Law, had concocted a stupid test she absolutely HAD to pass if he was going allow her to leave his crew and return to Shaboady to reunite with Luffy.

"HYAH!" Shachi and Penguin leapt into action, their fists of fury before them and ready to impact flesh. It seemed the test had begun.

"NYAH!" Jiru blinked and slid backwards, instantly regretting on forgetting just how quick the hulking Jean Bart could be. This WAS a serious fight after all – she had to KO at least three members of the Heart pirates.

The eight foot tall pirate lunged forward like a spilling flood and grappled her arms behind her, locking her arms into immobility. Shachi pressed his advantage and dove for her legs. It was a good call, since she was about to lift her legs onto an aura pad to gain height to flip over Jean Bart. The white-suited pirate knocked her aura pad away and wrapped his arms firmly around her lower legs. Penguin stood in front her, grinning roughly as he cocked back his fist and aimed at her stomach. However, she wasn't about to let them hammer her into a world of hurt.

Since having two years to use since agreeing with Raleigh's plan on Amazoness Island, Jiru had decided (it was more like no decision, since Trafalgar had her drugged into compliancy) to stick with the Heart Pirates and train herself to get stronger. She figured that Luffy would also accept the Dark King's idea and go off somewhere to train. The Mugiwara/Heart Treasure Hunter often thought of just how different things might have been had she not cut short her Kuma-air trip. What would her life be like if she had landed elsewhere; if Eustass Kidd had crew-pressed her?

Not allowing herself to slip into the fast-paced route of 'what-ifs', Jiru smirked at Penguin as his fist was centimeters from her stomach. Two years of training with her Reiki-Reiki Fruit and increasing her physical stamina made her just that much more dangerous. Instead of relying on her hands to guide her focus in compressing the kinetic energy in the air, she could now just give a thought and do the same thing. Which is what she did now, and Penguin's fast fist slammed into a gummy strip of KAE (kinetic air energy, pronounced kay). It wasn't that thick of a block, just the slim space between her stomach and Penguin's fist.

"EEEWWW! It's like…slime!" Penguin recoiled back in disgust; shaking his fist to expel the feeling of sliminess on his skin. "When the hell did you learn that trick!"

"Oh, about a year ago." Jiru replied flippantly. She had surprised herself by discovering that she could change the consistency of her KAE. Instead of steel-hard shields of KAE, she found she could use the Reiki energy to make squishy KAE like clouds or slime. It had taken a falling baby bird to enlighten her to its use.

Jiru had never actually used squishy KAE in battle, but figured she would save that trick for later. It was later now; and looked down at Shachi holding her feet and grinned. She willed squishy KAE at Shachi's face to knock him back away from her feet. It was like a marshmallow-covered hammer; and the handsome pirate went rolling backwards, cursing.

"Damn it, Jiru-sama, you have to hit your enemy with intent to kill! If you had been serious, my face would have been broken." Shachi shouted back at her. "You're still too soft-hearted, you wench!"

The short treasure hunter would have offered a clever or sarcastic quip back, but she was too busy focusing on Jean Bart. The once-enslaved pirate captain was threatening to suffocate her into unconsciousness. What her new nakama said was absolute truth: she would never strike to kill, it just wasn't her nature. It had been once noted by the other, less stronger Heart pirates - there were about forty or fifty other nakama – that she would lean more towards disabling the enemy than outright killing them. It didn't help that the only ones she fought were her temporary nakama – so striking to kill was still out of the question.

Using her KAE to help her brace against Jean Bart's forward pushing force, Jiru gasped as Bepo suddenly appeared and blurred his legs into kicking actions; aiming for her wide open spots: her torso, stomach and face.

Using Jean Bart's hold on her to lift her up, Jiru sat herself on a seat/pillar of KAE and tucked her now-free legs up tight against her chest. She winced as Bepo's karate kicks impacted with her KAE-armored legs, shaking her compact body. If she hadn't coated her legs in a layer of KAE, she was sure there would be bone fractures and torn muscles – and if she hadn't used her legs to cover her soft stomach, it would have been her fate to stay longer with the Heart Pirates with injuries and heal-time. Gravity overtook the bear's mid-air position; ceasing his onslaught of kicks. The polar bear dropped back to the ground and landed in a crouch, posing.

Cutting out her pillar-seat of KAE, Jiru let herself fall forward; using Jean Bart's forward-pushing inertia to roll him over her back and, with an extending column of KAE to Jean Bart's back, throw him off her. He sailed over her and flew at Penguin and Shachi feet in front of her; with luck he would land on the two and disable their movements. That was how it SHOULD have played out. Instead, Jean Bart merely fell forward…losing his balance and landing on the ground, squashing her beneath him.

"OH SNAP!" Jiru exhaled in surprise. At least she had broken his hold on her, but she was now trapped under his weight and…

"OH MY GOD! THAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER!" Penguin's obnoxious laugh cut through the glade. "Are you two making out like doggies?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU IDIOT!" Jiru went red in the face at Penguin's comment. "I'll kick your ass!"

"Yea, Kin-chan, I'd like to see you try!" Shachi joined his best friend in laughter. Behind Shachi, Bepo was embarrassed and red in the face, and few of the other Heart pirates pointed and threw lewd remarks at their female nakama. They had joined the clearing minutes before the fought began, all expecting a good show. Two years of being a female in an all-male crew, and the novelty still had to wear off. The crew loved to watch her in action; often placing bets and cat-calls.

As embarrassing as the situation could have turned, it appeared the fight was still on and the tell-tale tint of blue enveloped the glade. It was Law's Shamble-Room and it had engulfed them all.

"Let's play with our bodies, boys." The husky dark voice of the Surgeon drifted into her ears and Jiru's feeling of disconnection became prevalent. The weight floated off her back as she was lifted off the ground.

"Room…Shambles." Trafalgar Law stated. Her body burst apart into neat little pieces. Shachi, Penguin, Bepo and Jean Bart also flew apart at the seams.

The Golden Thief wasn't at all sure what Law-san would do with the plethora of body parts next, but she had to keep her wits about it – even if her head wasn't connected to her shoulders.

"Damn it captain, why did you scramble us too!" Penguin whined. "We were about to beat her all up!"

"Shit, yea right you ass, Pen-chan, I would have kicked you in the balls if you had punched me." Jiru hissed back. After two years, and living with tough-as-nails pirate crew with a captain whose bounty was the second highest of the Super Novae; the treasure hunter was now prone to curse like the best of them.

"Tisk, tisk, Miss Jiru-chan." Law's voice slid into her ears. "That's not a very nice thing to say to your nakama."

Her head, which had been floating aimlessly moments before, was now claimed by a tattooed hand of the Death Surgeon. It wasn't the first time he had used his power on her; nor would it be the last – she still had to hitch a ride in the Heart Pirates' ship/submarine to get back to Shaboady Groove. Law lived to tease by using his power on her and claiming pieces of her body to stimulate her senses. It was something she would never admit to enjoying, but found it oddly kinky. She had tried, once, to completely ignore him when he goaded her, but her will was weak and she always responded – verbally or physically.

"The hell, you twisted sicko pervert!" Her de-bodied head was turned in his hand to face him. "Put me back together right now, you bastard! I'm going to kick your ass."

"I ask you not to order me around, Kin-chan." The buff and strong pirate smirked as he brought her head up to his.

She had earned the pet-name, 'Kin-chan' because her bounty poster listed her as the Golden Thief; wanted for 113 million Beri. Trafalgar Law was amused by her title. For a non-assuming female as she, having such a high bounty right from the start was pure hilarity and mockery to the World Government. Having it raised to three hundred million for destroying pricy piece of government property such as a Pacifista was just ridiculous. He had yet to inform her of her bounty change; which had happened right after the Marineford War. She still figured herself as the 113 million Beri threat.

"Now I'm really mad; you are a pervert, Law." Jiru exhaled in annoyance. "I suppose I have to pull myself together and beat you up, huh?"

"That would be fairly difficult, given on how your nakama have run off your body parts." Law's smoky black eyes stared into hers. He turned her head around to view the scene he spoke of.

The bastard pirate captain had already re-assembled his other nakama. Penguin, Jean Bart, Bepo and Shachi were normal humans again and each of them had a piece of her scrambled body in their hands. The other Heart crew who gathered to watch the fight had also joined in the grab-fest, taking her feet, hands, fingers, toes, knees and segmented torso. A few of them were running towards the pine and random tree forest, leaving laughter in their wake.

"Oh great, JUST f-ing great. WHY do you torment me like this, Law? Isn't it enough to bully me; but you allow your idiots to run off with my body? That's just sick, what if they do the nasty with my parts! Allow me some dignity here, you sick shit."

"You're damn sexy when you're mad, Kin-chan." Law chuckled darkly and tossed her head up and caught it on the rebound. "This is your final test, babe. If you can't reclaim all your body parts, you're not going back to Shaboady."

"…" Jiru's head just glared at the smirking captain.

"Well?" Trafalgar asked her, his smirk growing larger, more annoying.

The pirate captain and her head stood there silently for a moment before the treasure hunter's head smirked in competition.

"Fine. Once I get my body parts back, I'm so going to cut your ass into pieces."

"You're on, babe. Show me what you've learned."


	2. Heart Pirates

_Scroll 2: Heart Pirates_

Lying on the cramped bunk as the submarine was traveling its route to her destination, Jiru hummed to herself. It was twenty-four hours since she had to use her Reiki-Reiki DF power and wits to reassemble herself after falling victim to Trafalgar Law's Shamble Room. After she pulled herself together, Trafalgar had initiated a fist-fight; and she had been pressed to participate. Thankfully, having that rare chance to partake in a Devil Fruit back in the city of Water-7; Jiru didn't have to rely solely on her physical strength.

Her DF power didn't really help her win the fist fight, because her temporary captain played dirty. He had felt her up, and threw her concentration in the fight. The dangerous pirate had been infatuated with her ever since she and the rest of the Mugiwaras had declared war on Enies Lobby. That adventure gave her a first bounty, and thus giving her world-wide recognition. The Super Nova 'Death Surgeon' had fallen into an intrigued-possessiveness with her image the moment he saw her bounty poster. If she didn't know better, the treasure hunter figured that Law counted her as some sort of angel/succubus. He loved her body and personality, and showed it often with his needling remarks and possessive actions.

But now, evidently having passed the test – claiming the spotted, fuzzy hat from Law's head – the Heart Pirates ended their two-year long stay on the remote island they had chosen to train themselves. She had grown to like that wild, beautiful island; it reminded her of Little Garden (thank god there were no dinosaurs, fighting giants or giant anythings). The jungle-isque island held many dangers that, for her, the physically weakest on the Mugiwara crew, was perfect for training her stamina. She, of course, had a rowdy pirate crew of fifty to train with – all male; which made it difficult for her to be a normal female. (It was fortunate that Law was a doctor, because the number and degree of injuries the Golden Thief handed out to spying perverts were many, often and painful.)

Now that their training period was done, and her current 'captain' was traveling back to where they had first met: Shaboady Grove, home of the Yarukiman Mangroves; a task to reunite her with Luffy.

Sighing to herself, the treasure hunter rolled onto her stomach and buried her face into the pillow. She felt the apprehension in her feelings of the changes soon to come. She missed Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. Thinking of Chopper, Nami, Usoppu, Franky, Robin and Brooke over the past two years often left her melancholy and vapid. Whenever she became like that, thinking of wildly random thoughts of just what her friends were doing during their two years separation, her temporary captain would force her mind to engage in tasks like cooking for the crew or studying biology, anatomy and other stuff.

Thinking back on her first, true day of being a Heart pirate, the treasure hunter smiled in recollection of how she was shy and quiet. She was like that in any situation. Over the days, as she became comfortable and familiar around the Heart pirates, she began to assert herself; using persuasive words to slowly mould others to her sense of comfort. However, that quickly changed as Law figured her out and made it his personal goal to completely irritate her into thinking outside the box. Looking back in comparison, Jiru wondered how she survived as long as she did being so restricted with self-imposed rules. She was like a goody-goody, well-behaved child, afraid to try anything remotely dangerous.

Now, she knew ten different ways to break and mend a bone, a muscle and how to perform surgery on a living subject. Leave it to a pirate the world labeled as the 'Death Surgeon' to educate her and bring her on par with his level of knowledge. It still was an anathema of hers to kill people (pirates and marines were the only people the Heart Pirates would not hesitate to kill), but she could attack with lethal intent and knowledge. It thrilled her to no end to be able to use a scalpel to disable an opponent without ending a life.

Although, now that she thought about it: her newest weapon; a slender, three-pronged retractable trident was ten times deadlier than any scalpel. Having rightfully 'stolen' it from a passing navy ship's treasure horde, she was thrilled to discover the weapon was state-of-the-art. The Heart Pirates figured out the plundered ship was part of the Science Branch and had been carrying top-secret cargo. The trident, shiny like chrome steel, had a secret switch which, when pushed, would flip the center prong with a prong made of sea-stone. That surprise had been shocking, since she nearly had impaled her temporary captain with the deadly-to-DF prong.

She needed intense psychological therapy after her first kill using that same trident. The man was a no-good scum captain of a crew pirate. Some random lowlife pirate ship had stumbled upon the island the Heart Pirates claimed as their training grounds. She had been alone, just enjoying her 'girl alone time' on the supposed uninhabited island, when the pirates had taken her by surprise.

The treasure hunter still remembered their Jolly Roger; that of a man with dog ears, blue eyes and a red bandana. She came upon them on the beach's curve, beating up a helpless dog. Even after beating the ever loving shit out of her temporary nakama for teasing her 'bleeding heart' she would never have changed what she had done. Screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs, she had raced down the beach, the trident raised threateningly above her head.

It was the offending pirates' mistake to tease her for looking weak and unassuming. It was also a mistake to openly taunt her by kicking the poor dog. She had thrown her trident, flawlessly aimed, and skewered the biggest pirate right in the throat. This, of course, left her just as shocked as the offending pirates, but thankfully, the Heart Pirates had appeared to give her back up and quickly dispensed with the unlucky crew. Law had congratulated her on killing the captain, only to whisk her away to the infirmary to treat her mental shock brought by killing.

It had taken a week for her recovery – she had worked herself into a fevered frenzy again, mental torturing herself over the actions she took. Law had been there, once again, with his needling, teasing comments and brought her back from the black pit of insanity. (The sex also helped greatly, but she would never tell.)

Ten months later, she was – could be – as ruthless as the Surgeon of Death. The dual-crewed treasure hunter was just as twisted and lethal as her captain, having been conditioned by Law himself. He had opened her repressed sense of twisted humor and it allowed her to fit right in with the notorious crew. He taught her to kill instantly and allowed her to do so. Which made her think of the carefree easy life she once had on the Sunny-Gou; one where Luffy would never allow her to put herself in harm's way to kill a person.

As the ship's name implied, her personality was once sunny and cheerful. How could she ever go back to being such a vapid, carefree treasure hunter? Would Monkey D. Luffy even take her back after finding out she joined – and slept – with the enemy. He probably would, expecting her to be the same, jovial woman she was when the Mugiwaras parted unwillingly two years back. Pounding her pillow in frustration at that though, she lifted her head and gasped for fresh air; pivoting on her hip to send herself sitting on the edge of the bunk, legs hanging to the floor.

Torn emotions.

That was the source of her torment recently; the Golden Thief was torn between two pirate crews. She owed Law her life, sanity, first-kill and loyalty (not to mention her sex-life.) The damned pirate had been such a forbidden fruit for her ever since she felt a connection after hearing he was one of the twelve Super Novae on Shaboady that day. Seeing his face on the bounty poster gave her shivers. He was a bad-ass sexy-fiend and his face showed it. Was this treasure hunter just one of the plethora of women to throw themselves at him? She didn't want to find out, yet curious at the same time. The Golden Thief still was confused that Law found her to be unquestionably sexy. Maybe it was just her humble, modest nature that caused her to disbelieve. Whatever it was, Law was the undisputable master of her hormones – she was attracted to the bad boys.

"GGah!" Jiru shook her head, trying vainly to clear the multitude of random trains of thought from her head. "Why am I so into the bad boys?"

"Thinking of me again, babe?" A husky voice asked her, making her look up. Law stood in the metallic doorway, leaning against it. He wore nothing but his spotted pants and a new, spotted rimmed cap. She had 'claimed' his old one, having stolen it off his head.

"What if I said I wasn't?" She shivered as he pinned her with bedroom eyes. The fire roared to life in her gut.

"Then I would have to punish you for lying to your captain." Law smirked back, nearly making her moan with lust. His lanky form was compact and tanned – seeing her captain shirtless was enough to make a weaker woman swoon. A tanned chest, nearly hairless, was just oozing sex-appeal.

"Is that so?" Jiru mused back, offering her own teasing smirk. "Then I would have to come up with an answer to convince you of my sincerity."

"What if I still don't believe you?" Law flexed his left shoulder to repel himself off the doorframe to slink across the small room to stand over her. "What then?"

"Then I guess I would have to high-tail myself out of here and hope to escape your terrible wrath." Came her answer.

"I think not." He grinned before making her retreat; sitting upright until her head touched the lower rim of the bulkhead. "But you can try."

"Uhm." The Golden Thief felt the heat in her face as she saw the condition Law was in. "Tell me you're not carrying that Nodachi behind you…"

"..or I can tell you not to give me orders." Law growled darkly as he leaned closer to her. Trafalgar Law lived to invade his treasure hunter's personal space. Reaching down to snake his fingers into her waist-length hair, he chuckled. "I thought you would be rid of that prude sense of yours by now, Kin-chan."

"Heh." The Golden Thief twitched as the warmth in her stomach roiled hotter. "What can I say? Once a prude, always a prude."

"Oh come now, you honestly don't expect me to believe you aren't '_wanting_' it right this very second?" Law leaned in closer; his breath brushing her ear. The treasure hunter shivered, and had nothing witty to say back. Trafalgar lowered himself more, coming eye level with his treasure hunter.

"Well?" He prodded. "I am expecting an answer."

"I…am on fire right now, you bastard, and you know it."

"Ah, see. That wasn't so difficult to say, was it, Miss Jiru." Law's annoying smirk was back.

"I give up, I can't concentrate like this." The Golden Thief sighed and relaxed her muscles, leaning forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder. "I'm just tired of waiting. I wanna see Luffy again."

"Hm." Death's Surgeon grunted and shifted his center of balance. Picking up her lithe frame, he turned and sat back down on the bed, drawing his treasure hunter against him, spooning. "I'm not letting you go, Kin-chan. You have to convince me to let you go."

"WHAT! That's not fair!" Jiru cried in surprise. "You promised you'd take me back to Shaboady Grove."

"And I am; taking you back to Shaboady Grove. I never said I would let you go." Law caressed her shoulder under her shirt. The clothes she wore at the moment, was nothing but shorts and a long hooded-sweater; black with a yellow hood. Having the guts to refuse to wear the traditional Heart-Pirate – the white, full-body jumpsuit – she opted to wear Law's colors by making her own pants and shirts. THAT was a struggle; tailoring and sewing clothes to wear. It had to be true luck when Raleigh had given her thought-to-be-lost storage bag when the two re-met on Amazon Lily Island. Otherwise she would have had to go around in the buff until she made her own clothes.

The treasure hunter hadn't been her sharpest that horrid, fateful day, back on Shaboady Grove. Having just escaped from slavery with a re-injured foot, her thoughts weren't on her surrounding awareness, and when Bartholomew Kuma repelled her, she lost hold of her treasure-hunting pack. It wasn't until after the Marine/Whitebeard war that she found her bag; brought to her by none other than the ship-coater Dark-King Raleigh. All that was moot and thinking any deeper than that would set her into depression. She had lost some one very special to her during the war, and it was nearly a two-count, but Law had done his best to save Monkey D. Luffy's life. For that, she had shouldered the debt – in Luffy's stead – and crewed with the Heart Pirates. Apparently, her temporary captain wanted to become her permanent captain.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting her thoughts. It also interrupted Law's attempt to gain her submission.

"Captain?" Bepo's muffled voice inquired.

"Yes, Bepo what is it?" Law answered, keeping a hold of his long-haired treasure hunter. He wasn't about to let her go so soon, let alone allow her to escape from his 'condition'.

"We've arrived at Shaboady."

"About time!" Jiru lurched forward, only to be pulled back down by Law. Tangling his fingers in her long, dark-chocolate hair, he chuckled darkly at her weak attempt to escape him.

"Relax, Shaboady isn't going anywhere soon." He informed her, grinding up against her rear. "Neither are you."

"You are a pervert." She moaned; feeling Law's condition press harshly against her.

"You are my treasure hunter."

Whatever argument was going to happen was cut short when the submarine's alarm sounded. It would seem they were under threat; most likely from dirt-stupid marines. Lagoon green eyes flickered with annoyance and met smoky black orbs. The two pirates slid out of the bunk and straightened themselves up. Rushing out of the room, Jiru turned back as a second thought entered her mind. She was not going to battle whatever their opponent was while wearing lounge clothes.

"Kin-chan, ah-ah." The Heart pirate captain chided, catching her wrist and halting her retreat into the room. "I like the way you look now."

"Damn it Law, I'm not going out there in just shorts and a hoodie. Hello! That's a big battle 'NO' in my book."

"Relax, you're not going to do much, just watch our backs."

"Seriously?" Jiru hissed to him. "SERIOUSLY! This is a joke, right?"

"This is far from a joke, Miss Jiru. Prepare yourself for battle." Trafalgar Law ordered, pulling her along the metal narrow hallway of the sub. "Let's go."


	3. Back Again Bubbles

_Scroll 3: Back Again Bubbles_

Walking proudly – this time without so much as a scratch – down the grassy lane of a Shaboady path, the pirate known to the world as 'The Golden Thief' smiled brightly. She and the cluster of Yarukiman mangrove trees had parted on terrible terms last time. The separation blame didn't lie on her or the trees' shoulders, but she forgave the trees anyway. It was her second day back, she blamed rainy weather and ass-munch marines for taking up her first day's time here. Not that she cared much; her temporary captain had entertained her thoroughly. No, she wasn't telling what that entertainment was; at least what it was after the celebration of defeating a three-ship unit of marines.

The Heart Submarine had been unlucky enough to be spotted by marines as it cruised right below sea level. The moronic marines thought themselves tough and able to take on the two-year absent Super Nova, the Surgeon of Death. Law thought his crew deserved some fun; having been stuck on an island for twenty-three months. The captain had been correct in his assumption. The crew got wild and lethal, using their new skills to quickly take out the three navy ships. The Golden Thief, also, set forth her skills, and left many marines disabled from being un-mortally sliced and poked full of trident-prong holes.

Afterwards, deeming the weather too lousy to go landside, the Heart Pirates threw a party for the night. Law, being the sick, twisted-manipulative and possessive pirate he was, got her drunk and the booze had edited out her memories of the evening. That was when the entertainment started for her; as Law dominantly showed her where her loyalty was.

Her back still stung from the tattoo needles – not to say anything of how sore her legs and hips were. The bastard had marked her as his; showing her, in a mirror, her left shoulder blade. The insanely possessive captain had thought it his place to brand her with the Heart Pirate's Jolly Roger: the circular, toothy face with measured Ts drawn around, like rays of a sun. Her right shoulder blade stung the same way, but she never managed to view what Law had tattooed there. There wasn't enough words to describe how uncharacteristically pissed she was.

"Look over here, Kin-chan!" the fuzzy voice of her nakama, the white polar bear Bepo, caught her ears. She, of course, turned her eyes away from the grey and green giant stripes of the larger than life-tree trunks and their beautiful canopy far above. Lowering them to gaze at her escort – yes, her psychotically possessive temporary captain was not about to let her go walking alone on Shaboady – she focused on what the bear was wanting her to look at.

It was through a shop's window, a bubble-made pane of translucent sap, the item peeked through. It was very surprising to see just what drew the bear's interest. It was none other than a polar bear plushie. The two-foot-long white thing was lying on its stomach; looking out of its black eyes. Bepo's face was pressed excitedly against the bubble pane, his own eyes staring longingly at the item.

"Bepo, seriously?" Jiru smiled at her ursine nakama and his interest in the toy. "You are so cute."

"I'm so sorry." The brown-suited nakama stepped back and muttered apologetically. The treasure hunter had made him a not-so-conspicuous jumpsuit sixteen months ago. She had thought the jail suit orange was just to attention catching.

"Bepo, stop apologizing, you silly polar bear. If you want the plushie, just ask."

"Sorry again, Miss Jiru." Bepo said happily, still true to himself, even after two years of having a female nakama. "Please, may we go in and buy the plushie?"

Bepo, next to Penguin and Shachi, had been completely charmed by her personality and nearly gave her all their loyalty; however she would never completely get them to forsake their captain, Trafalgar Law.

"It's alright, Bepo-chan, I'll get it for you." Jiru smiled brightly and reached back and up to scratch behind the ear of Bepo's lowered head.

It would have been an enjoyable exchange had she not caught sight of the face whose owner had been trailing her for the past hour. Trafalgar Law. Damn the bastard. He was shadowing her every move; daring her to do something stupid like try and throw him off her trail. Well, she would not only meet the challenge, but outsmart him. It would be a shame to leave the man disappointed. Her mind was made up to piss him off. She would escape from Bepo's escort and play a little game; leaving them both clueless as to where she was.

"Come Bepo, I shall get this plushie you so desire." Jiru's voice turned haughty as she spun on her heels to face the store's entrance. Stuffing her hands into her trim jean jacket (something she had hand-sewn proudly after several attempts) the treasure hunter stomped into the building with clear expectation of Bepo to follow.

Inside the store, she instantly used her Reiki awareness to sense out the domicile's exits. The building was a quaint little toy venue, stocked to the roof with various lines of entertainment for children. Stepping aside as Bepo rushed to the window in order to lay claim to that polar bear plushie, she finished her Reiki scan. There were five windows total, varying in size; one per wall, and the fifth next to the emergency exit in the back. The building was two stories; most likely the owner lived upstairs. Hopefully, given the content of the store, she could distract the polar mammal long enough to give herself time to exit the building via upstairs.

It would be a long shot – as she mentally plotted her route – but if the Golden Thief timed it just right; Trafalgar Law wouldn't know she was gone until it was too late.

"Miss Jiru! I got it!" Bepo returned to her five seconds later; clutching the merchandise to his brown-clothed chest. "I'm going to name it Bepo Jr."

"Awh, that's so cute. What other things are here?" A question asked, to throw the bear off her mental machinations. "I see kid toys, cheap-ass books and candy, but not much else."

"Oh, there is a whole section of stuffed animals back here, Miss Jiru." The bear's voice quivered in childlike happiness. It was difficult to believe a deadly, karate-using bear could be characteristically childish. It was a shame she would have to get him in trouble with his captain, but it was a stupid idea to lead 'the bastard Law' to Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, which was her destination.

"Let's go look at the plushies then." Jiru's hand slowly entered her specialized backpack and easily found an old smoke bomb she filched from a certain sniper years ago. It was step one in her plan.

"Yes!" Bepo voiced his excitement.

XXXXX

Trafalgar Law leaned casually against the moss-blue building's wall; his nodachi's hilt resting comfortably against his shoulder. His smoky black eyes sliced across the wide path to the building of which his first mate and his treasure hunter had entered. He knew she knew he was following her, the way she gave him the scowling look when she spoke with Bepo. Her rare, take-no-shit attitude made him chuckle. He loved that about her, his treasure hunter known as the Golden Thief.

Other pirates might overlook her due to her average height and beauty, but not Law. He knew there was something addicting about her and her personality. His hunches proved to be correct, if their first interaction proved anything. Her actions on the slave stage had piqued his curiosity something fierce; and he had provoked her more by placing a faux-bid on her person. It wasn't official, but she technically was an escaped slave; and a pirate whose bounty placed her in the category of the 'Super Nova Rookies'; one of twelve dangerous pirate rookies.

To Law, who had done his research on the group – a group he himself was in – found the Golden Thief most intriguing. She was the pirate with the least amount of history; an enigma. The Marines didn't know where she was born, her native country or how she managed to become a dire threat so easily. Trafalgar figured it to be because she was crewed with the son of Monkey D. Dragon, the world's most wanted man. The Mugiwaras had always been an unknown; their method of madness confusing. Their captain, Monkey D. Luffy was unlike anything Law had encountered in the world.

The pirate-captain was totally random, and unpredictable. No one outside his crew could guess what the captain would do next. Like his treasure hunter; whom currently was in trouble – if any indication of smoke rising from the building she and Bepo had just entered.

Smoke rose from the toy store as passers-by began to panic. The front window bulged out and popped, allowing smoke to pour forth.

"FIRE!" A blonde woman screamed as she pointed to the cloud of smoke rising from the building. The shoppers panicked also.

Law leapt into action and covered the wide avenue's width in five strides. Throwing open the door, he was greeted by a coughing Bepo. The bear lumbered out of the smoke-filled store, looking confused.

"Bepo, Are you alright?" Law asked, even as he pulled the bear aside to look for his treasure hunter. She was not there.

"Sor-Sorry Captain, I lost her…" Bepo, clutching a white thing to his chest, looked at his captain.

"What!" Law's black eyes widened in alarm.

"She was next to me one moment, and then the shelf started smoking and she got separated." The white bear straightened up to go back into the store; which was now barfing out the five other customers and owner.

"Where is she!" Law growled low in his throat. Behind him, a few members of his crew joined.

"Captain!" Shachi was the first to speak. "Bepo, are you ok? What's going on!"

Within his sharp mind, Law's thoughts narrowed to a few choices. If his treasure hunter wasn't exiting from the front, then…

"Damn it, go around the back, quickly!" The Surgeon of Death ordered; the tone of his voice brooking no question. The five Heart pirates nodded and raced themselves around the building, aiming for the back.

Upon joining them, Law saw the same thing they did; the back door was flung open and smoke was pouring out of the hole. There was a scrap of cloth hanging on the lock, and it belonged to the treasure hunter's jacket. This cloth infuriated him to no end; the woman managed to slip his grasp. For her to so easily act innocent and be able to pull off a humiliating stunt by setting fire to a building blew Law's mind. It seemed she had more guts than he gave her credit for; slipping her leash. However, she wasn't as clever as she thought herself to be, if leaving behind damning evidence such as a ripped jacket proved anything.

"Shachi, stop, she's not in there." Law grounded out to his crew. His fist tightened around the scrap of jacket cloth; his temper skyrocketing. Trafalgar paused for a few more seconds; looking up into the sky searching for the floating woman. She wasn't in the vicinity and had most likely high-tailed out of view. The woman had betrayed his trust and, of all the things he hated, it was betrayal of trust.

"What?" Shachi asked, confused as to why Law forbad him from rescuing their female nakama; whom they thought was still in the smoking store.

"I'm not going to repeat myself." The captain's voice lowered in pitch. Trafalgar showed them the scrap of jacket. This alerted his crew to his mood. They nodded somberly and stepped back from the smoking door.

"Let's go boys, it seems we have insubordination in the ranks, and it merits punishment." Turning away from the store's back exit, the Surgeon of Death stalked towards their submarine's berth.

Without a word between the seven pirates, the others followed; knowing the situation would play out, answering their unvoiced questions. They all knew when their captain was like this; it was better to just follow orders. In the back of their minds, they wondered just what the treasure hunter had done to raise their captain's ire so quickly. Whatever was going to happen to her, it was not going to be at all pleasant.


	4. Samurai and the Thief

_Scroll 4: Samurai & Thief_

Turning her face towards the sun, the Golden Thief sighed blissfully. Now that she was unhindered by the Heart Pirates, she dug into her brown backpack to seek that tiny, hidden pocket. Sticking a dampened finger in, she pulled out that small vivre card that Raleigh had given her two years ago. Placing it in her hand she viewed it closely to watch where it moved.

"Right, east. Let's go!" Allowing herself a backwards glance to the plume of just-smoke rising from a building far below, the Golden Thief charged forward to her destination; lifting herself higher until she was above the tops of the bubble-producing Yarukiman trees.

Zipping forward on her KAE pad, Jiru finally followed the Vivre card until it felt heavy in her hand, which she figured for the 'down' direction. Focusing her eyes on the tree top below, the treasure hunter smiled to herself; her excitement growing. Lowering herself until she viewed the humble little building of the bar; she felt her breath catch in her throat, producing a long, single laugh.

The Golden Thief managed to arrive at the same time a certain, green-haired male did. He looked smaller from this altitude, but there was no doubting it was the Super Nova known as the Pirate Hunter; Roronoa Zoro. A shiver of heat crept out from her stomach as she turned her thoughts to Zoro. It was so long since she last saw him and he still had such a strong effect on her hormones, it was delicious. Gasping a few times to fight off the heat which bloomed in her gut, Jiru sat back and forced her thoughts elsewhere.

The woman thought out her next moves; which gave her a series of choices: she could rush in and alert the swordsman to her arrival, being jovial to the point of mimicking her first captain, Luffy; she could wait a few minutes then arrive; playing it smooth, smug and cool, showing him how awesome she still was; or she could sneak in and scare the shit out of him, seeing how he would react. Would he slice her or jump out of his skin?

She went with the last choice. Looking back down, she watched as Zoro – Roronoa Zoro – walked into the bar. Chuckling to herself, she allowed her KAE pad to drop lower – silent like the wind; which wasn't at all that silent with soapy bubbles constantly being exuded from the mangrove trees.

XXXXX

Roronoa Zoro sighed to himself as he smelled her coming from high above. It had been a long two years since their last encounter and but he never forgot the way she smelled. The scent: lavender soap, a hint of mint and an underlying briny aroma mixed with clean human skin and a feminine allure wafted tantalizingly on the air currents. It was almost imperceptible among the heavy soapy, wet smell of Shaboady which dominated the environment. But her scent was there; teasing him into near insanity.

Voicing his greeting to the pair of older pirates who were waiting in the bar, the samurai allowed his face to split into a feral grin. It was quite the entrance; better than he could have choreographed: the sunlight illuminated his silhouette from behind, allowing his shadow to darken the two pirates inside. Shakky the long, slender bartender was currently bent forward; propping herself on the bar's counter. Her dangerous fingers held a long smoke-stick, a device which elongated the draw of the cigarette she currently smoked. Her lips grew into a smile upon seeing the samurai. Her black, form fitting shirt was elegant, a black widow black depicted in red. If Zoro wasn't careful, she would strike and charge him an arm and leg for entering the bar.

Next to her, the Dark King Raleigh sat on a bar stool, casual as could be in his black t-shirt and white-khaki shorts; sandals on his feet. The old man was better off without the grey cloak that currently covered his shoulders and upper arms. The old pirate gave a returning grin before waving.

Bringing a hand to up to rest on the trio weapon hilts, Zoro shifted into battle-balance, spreading his feet an inch farther apart. If the short-heighted woman wanted to surprise him, she had another thing coming. He would put her in her place and revel in every second of contact.

XXXXX

Gliding quietly up behind the swordsman, the treasure hunter bit her lower lip to stifle the bubbling giggle that wanted to jump from her lips. It would be so disappointing if she gave herself away early. Gazing quickly at Zoro's back, Jiru managed to take in just how much the green-haired pirate had grown. Today he wore a jungle-green kimono with yellow stitching in the form of a carp-dragon, which wound its way from the hem, around the back and up to the waist; its patterns of fish scales placed in scattered patches within the serpentine form. A red harikama (wide cloth belt) held the familiar trio of deadly weapons: Shusui, Nidai Kitetsu and Wado Ichimonji.

Reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder, Jiru yelped in shock as he spun around like a natural force. He used that momentum, knocked her off her air pad, whirled her around and pushed her back to the wall next to the bar's entrance. Zoro grabbed her wrists and forced them above her head, pinning them to the rough brick. The treasure hunter gasped and clenched her eyes shut. The rough impact against the wall took the breath from her diaphragm.

"Hello Chibi." His voice and tone alerted her to what kind and how much trouble she was in. Slowly opening her eyes, the treasure hunter cursed her traitorously hot hormones as the look on Zoro's face set fire to her stomach.

Not only was Zoro's face more dangerous, with an unexpected flaw of a new disabling scar that permanently closed his left eye, but the samurai's remaining eye smoldered with pure lust. His longer, darker hair; no longer stylized like a mossy rock, was slicked back, making him look even bad-ass and macho. Whatever innocent curves were traced into his face in the past were gone; replaced with knowledge and hard-cut experience. Roronoa Zoro was taller, nearly a foot more than she remembered.

However, none of the features she saw were what took her breath away; it was the fact his muscled chest; warm, solid and strong was pushing against hers. Fantasies flared into life in her head, fueling the already raging tempest in the pit of her stomach.

"Z-Zoro…" She squeaked, feeling her pulse race. "Hello again, fancy meeting you here."

XXXXX

Roronoa Zoro growled in masculine overdrive, glaring at the woman who dared sneak up behind him. Her scent now dominated his senses, whereas before it only teased. Retaining his feral smile, the swordsman leaned forward, nearly touching his nose to hers. Why he was torturing himself like this was beyond comprehension; the agony of lust grating his nerves was more painful than any sword slice which his Shichibukai sensei could give. He wanted to take her then and there, if the hardness of his member was any indication. His right eye took in the entirety of her face; still unique among all the women he ever met.

Liquid lagoon green eyes stared back into his as the female squirmed under his piercing gaze. Her skin was just as he remembered it being: averagely smoothed and character-ed, proving she was a person who lived to be outdoors. Tanned cheeks curved upward as she smirked, her nose wrinkling in rebellion. Zoro chuckled softly as he watched the treasure hunter try to defuse the obviously tense situation. She could try, and she would fail.

"Hello Chibi." He growled out, a feral cat's-grin playing on his lips.

"Z-Zoro…" She squeaked; Zoro felt her pulse race under the skin of her wrists. "Hello again, fancy meeting you here."

"Indeed. It was a bad idea to try and sneak up on me, Chibi-chan." He used his age-old nickname for her. Even after two years, it seemed she hadn't gained that needed inch of body height to make her exactly five feet.

"Heh, yea, I guess it was. Nothing gets past you, does it?" She answered back with a redundant question.

"No, it doesn't." The swordsman's nose moved away from hers, and buried itself in her clean black-chocolate hair. Moaning with lust, he tightened his grip on her hands; harvesting the reward of feeling her pulse quicken even more. "Don't tell me you're scared, Chibi-chan."

"Scared? Of your pathetic ass?" she retorted, still trying in vain to place her feet firmly on the ground beneath. Zoro had her stretched out and up against the wall, her boots barely making contact with dirt. "After flying pigs become the Pirate King."

"Hnm." He grunted upon figuring out the new texture of her hair. It was longer than he remembered; and it smelled wrong; smelling of man-sweat and smoke. "Just what have you been up too the last couple years, eh, Chibi-chan." Depending on her answer, he would gauge an appropriate punishment. It infuriated him that her scent mingled with another male's musk.

"Oh, I've been here and there, waiting for your sorry ass to show up – lost." Jiru managed to exhale. Internally she was fighting a battle of raging hormones and the need to play cool. "I mean-"

She never finished her statement because Zoro ravished her mouth, finally caving into primal need. Eliciting a gasp from her, he smiled and plunged his seeking tongue into her mouth. His own system now grew hot, his stiffened member pressing against her thighs. Damn, she even tasted the same as she smelled: sea-salt and mint. Bringing up his free hand to her chin, Zoro tilted her head back to gain him a wider range of her mouth. It had been far too long since he partook of this particular fruit. Zoro was three seconds away from tearing her clothes off and claiming her right there and then.

Audible clapping from the left interrupted his indulgence. Breaking off the kiss, he turned his head to see Dark King and Shakky standing there; with the old man clapping his hands appreciatively.

"That's one hell of a greeting, don't you think, Miss Jiru-san?" Raleigh laughed. "It goes to show that I was wise to save his life, am I right?" The bright, vivacious laughter of the old man grated on the samurai's nerves. "I'm glad you make it back safely, Miss Jiru-san."

Roronoa snorted at the old man's familiarity towards the treasure hunter. There was some bond there that he now could see. Just what in the name of the five oceans did the treasure hunter do to merit that kind of friendship from a dangerous legend such as the Dark King?

"H-h-hi, Ray-sama!" Jiru struggled to speak, reeling from the effects Zoro's kiss gave her. "Long time, no see, eh?"

"Well met indeed, Miss Jiru-san. Have you worked any with the Haki lessons I gave you?" the white haired old pirate still beamed, speaking with the treasure hunter.

"YES! NO! What the hell did you do to me, you old goat!" the woman caught under Zoro's grasp turned angry. It was enough to send a lance of fire up the swordman's spine. "You used your stupid Haki on me, didn't you?"

"Oh, that little will-blast? I just wanted to alert you to how such a Haki feels." Raleigh answered the Golden Thief's outburst. "…to be aware of the King's will and its feel."

"Damn it, IT WASN'T funny! What if I had fallen off the cliff? What if I hadn't woken up five seconds later?"

"Ah, but you did wake up, which proves to me that you are quite capable of managing on your own."

Zoro looked away from the old buzzard of a pirate and refocused on the bristling woman against the wall. He was lost to the origins of their conversation of cliffs and Haki bursts.

"Chibi…" He called.

"WHAT!" Her attention snapped back to him and he gave her that feral grin again.

"Shut up."

"Make me-…" She challenged. He answered, lightly pulling her head to the side to gain access to her neck, on which he flicked his tongue onto. It had been far too long.

"Zo-…Zoro…what the hell?" She gasped.

"You." He tasted her all over again, placing his mouth over the spot on her neck that raced wildly; pulsing in time with her heart. She was so delicious and he wanted her that much more.

"BACK OFF, Zoro!" Jiru cried, and applied her Reiki. The space between them expanded, forcing the samurai to step back enough to release his hold on her. "Good lord; where the hell have you been the past two years? Under a rock?"

"No."

"FINE." Jiru rolled her eyes as she regained her balance; her feet finally touching the ground. She made the show of smoothing down her wrinkled black and yellow shirt. "You act like you've been starved of human contact. Which would be a lie, because there's no way in the bloody world you would slice your own eye like that."

"Oh, that. It's nothing." He set his face to neutral, glaring at her tantrum. She turned her back on him, which was a huge mistake. He viewed her rear, which was covered by her dark-chocolate hair, braided. Even her modestly small ass looked luscious.

"Whatever, you're completely clueless, aren't you." The treasure hunter sighed dramatically and turned her focus on to Raleigh. "Which brings me to my next train of thought…"

The imperceptible sound of a katana being drawn was almost lost on her, but she felt herself go stone-cold rigid. A force, which was Zoro's hand, grabbed her waist length braid in one fist. A tug backward, lifting the braid away from her back, and another tug was felt as the seriously deranged samurai used Shusui to slice her hair short. (She had never forgotten the different auras Zoro's swords emitted; Shusui registered black and blue flames on her Reiki sense.) The painstaking care and effort gone into growing her hair long was gone – two years work, simply cut off. Turning around with her rage mounting, the treasure hunter gave her fiercest scowl at the sight which greeted her. Roronoa Zoro was replacing Shusui back in its sheath, as her sliced hair-braid fell to the ground between them.

"What. The. Hell?" She surprised herself with a curse.

"I don't like you in long hair. Short hair suits you better in battle." The deranged swordsman informed her. Behind the newly united Mugiwaras, Silvers Raleigh burst into hearty laughter.

"He got you good, Miss Jiru-san." The old man leaned against the building, holding his torso as it shook with laughter. The Golden Thief turned around to aim her scowl at her secret nakama. "This reminds me of the time Roger decided to braid your hair with bootlaces."

"SHUT UP!" The infuriated Golden Thief howled at the old man. "NOBODY IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!" The old pirate didn't care as he continued laughing his drunken guts out.

Jiru turned around to face Zoro once again, looking down at the sad pile of hair sitting on the soapy grass, and brought her hands up to feel the hack job on her head. Ignoring the confused look on Roronoa's face about Raleigh's hair-braid comment, she exhaled in aggravation.

"I'm leaving." She finally said. "I'm leaving and I am seriously despising you right now, Zoro. You are completely and randomly insane." Whatever arousal he had worked her into was now iced over.

"Chibi…" He started to say.

"NO! I can't believe you would cut off my hair." The Golden Thief brought her thumb and pointer finger up to the bridge of her nose. "I was TRYING to grow my hair long to see if I could do it; but you didn't like it and…WHY am I even explaining myself to a neanderthal like you. I'm going to fine a hair stylist to get my hair fixed."

Spinning on her heel and looking at the recovering old, white-haired pirate, the Golden Thief lowered her hand from her face and shook her head. "As for you, old man, don't you dare tell anyone who I am/was."

"I promise, as I did before, Miss Jiru-san." Raleigh composed himself once again and smiled at Shakky, who was watching the whole scene with mild amusement.

"Miss Golden Thief, if I may assist you." The tall, elegantly built woman exhaled a plume of smoke and entered into the bar. Jiru canted her head sideways, finally focusing on the quiet woman. The bar-tender returned and approached the shorter woman, giving a disarming smile. Shakky knew her presence was slightly intimidating to the younger woman.

"Here, if you are looking for a hair stylist, please feel free to use the boutique I use." The slender female companion handed the treasure hunter a small card; which had the name and grove number of a fancy-sounding hair stylist. "Please tell Shakandra that Shakky says hello."

"Wow, thanks, Shakky-sama." Jiru took the offered card and blushed; Shakky's proximity caused her to feel inferior and clumsy. Every move the woman made was grace, elegance and allure rolled into one. Never in a lifetime would the Golden Thief be as dangerous and elegant as Shakky.

"You're welcome, Chibi-san." Shakky beamed a smile as she teased the younger treasure hunter.

"Hehehe." Jiru chuckled in nervousness. Before the three pirates could do anything else, the Golden Thief took off on an air pad, heading towards the grove 9 that the card stated. She would get her hair fixed, blow off some anger and then return to the Rip-Off Bar later. Hopefully by then she would find it in her soul to forgive Roronoa Zoro his mistake.


	5. Pirate Errors

_Scroll 5: Pirates' Errors_

Standing against the rubbery bark of the bubble-producing tree, the Golden Thief held her right shoulder tightly, a hilt and its blade protruding from between her fingers. Her blood oozed out sluggishly, staining not only her shirt and jacket, but the tree behind. The dagger which had pierced her shoulder, pinning her to the gigantic tree, was made of the rare kairoseki stone. Whoever these pirates were, they were not rookies. They apparently did they research about her, but knowing the Golden Thief was a DF-user wasn't exactly a secret. The wave of weakness swept through her senses, causing her to slump against the tree.

The male who had skewered her had the strength to throw hard enough to bury the weapon to the hilt; thus the deadly, disabling blade lodged into the grey wood, pinning her like a butterfly under a collector's hand. Thank whatever luck she had that the blade hadn't pierced anything that important. She had barely sensed the blade before it struck. Whoever the pirate was, he literally came out of nowhere.

"Well, well, well; it seems the 'Golden Thief' is a push over. I don't see what is so dangerous about this bitch anyway." The pirate who threw the dagger swaggered up to her, reaching up to give the weapon a tweak. "Of course, with you, Captain Mana, the element of surprise is our greatest weapon."

The pirate man looked like the dime-a-dozen type; pudgy middle, haggard face, unruly mop of brown hair and leering black eyes. His clothes, however, weren't the run of the mill. A red, long-sleeve shirt covered his upper body. The bold white print on the chest, 'Smokey Pirates', was writ in bubble script. Clean, green jean-pants covered all his lower body, being held up with a brown leather belt. Three more scimitars held place along the belt, and a single flint-lock pistol was resting in a holster at knee-level.

"Indeed, it seems that the element of surprise is her weakness." A silky, feminine voice agreed with the pirate.

"What…the…who are you losers?" The Golden Thief managed to hiss between clenched teeth. The pain now blared into her brain, searing her vision with red and white. She refused to scream; which would undoubtedly give the pirates a meager reward of power.

"You, Miss Golden Thief." Again came that sexy female voice. The fat, dagger-twisting man stepped back further, laughing at her pain; which was evident on her face. The kairoseki dagger effectively cut off her mode of escape via Reiki-power; and the training provided by her oh-so-kind temporary captain forced her to keep the dagger in.

Trafalgar Law had drilled her that puncture wounds were least damaging when the foreign item was left in until professional hands could remove it. Jiru cursed her stupidity, wishing Law was here to save her. It would be her ill-borne luck if the sadistic man decided not to show up because she had run away from him – he was twisted like that.

Several other pirate men came into her pained view; each wearing nice-enough clothes for dirt-ugly pirates. Each shirt, a different color, had various images and words depicted, all in that white-bubble-script print. Her vision threatening to give out, Jiru barely watched as the owner of the feminine voice stepped in front of her. The woman's face put the Golden Thief's system teetering dangerously on the brink of shock. The face was her own!

The treasure hunter coughed out a glob of saliva. The woman was her! Only the body was completely different; as if it were a well-endowed, curvaceous, smooth-skinned vixen version of herself. Standing a head taller (six feet) the other woman's flawless lips curved upward as she viewed the shock on the Golden Thief's face.

"Like what you see, Miss Golden Thief?" the woman purred like a cat; bringing her hands up to boost her breasts – which were covered, just barely, by a red lace bra. Those things had to be size D, if not double C's. The woman reminded Jiru strongly of Alvida's new look; back when they met briefly on Rogue Island; a bra, form-fitting jeans, a large cape/cloak and feathered white hat. However, this sexy woman was nothing like Alvida in the face; as Jiru's own face, slender and smooth, stared back with…sky blue eyes.

"You're…me!" Jiru whispered in pure shock.

"I am Captain Smokey D. Mana." The woman grinned maliciously, running a nailed finger down Jiru's cheek. "I've come to ruin your life."

Before anything else could be said or done, there came a battle cry from overhead. A brown and white form came whirling down, landing between Jiru and the sexy-doppelganger. Bepo snarled his bear fight-snarl and posed dangerously as the female captain stepped back in surprise.

"AYYAYAHHHA!" the bear finished.

"Be-po…" The Golden Thief felt relief wash through her system, temporarily beating back the pain. Looking past the bear, the treasure hunter was greeted by Law's angry face; which was flanked by the bulk of the Heart Pirates. "Law, captain…thank goodness."

Jiru heard that telltale humming buzz of Law's DF power, coupled with confused and angry shouts of the 'Smokey' pirates. She smiled once to the bear who was backing up in order to protect her, before allowing herself to succumb to the pain. The Golden Thief blacked out in Bepo's arms as the bear yanked out the knife which pinned her to the tree.

XXXXX

_Two hours later:_

Trafalgar Law gave one last snip of the surgical stitching and placed the bloody scissors on the metal tray beside him. It had been one hell of an afternoon. Not only had he managed to reclaim his mischievous missing treasure hunter, who was now lying on the surgery table out-cold, but the Surgeon of Death Shichibukai managed to slaughter a rival pirate crew, minus that wily female captain. It was a shame that such a luscious captain evaded his brutal massacre. The woman had a Devil fruit power allowing her to vanish like an illusion. It was the pirates' death sentence when they decided to injury his treasure hunter. That was something only he was allowed to do to the infuriatingly random woman known as the Golden Thief.

"Captain?" Bepo's hesitant voice poured through the closed infirmary door. "Is…is She going to be ok?"

"You can come in, Bepo." Law leaned back in his chair, completely exhausted. The brown-suited bear slowly opened the door to stand there, his paws clasped together in worry.

It had been a long afternoon for all of them; as the Heart pirates chased down the doomed Smokey Pirates, leaving none alive for their transgression against the female treasure hunter. Half the Heart pirates then proceeded to locate the Smokey's pirate ship, plunder and sink it, leaving behind a smoky cloud of destruction. Such was the way of the strong – the Smokey Pirates would never see the light of day again. Their hearts would be sent to the World Government as was Law's new fetish of habit and dark plan.

"Yes, she's going to live, Bepo, so don't worry." The Dark Doctor reached up to run the back of his hand across his forehead. The action left a trail of blood and gore behind. It didn't matter that the blood was completely hers; he could choose to roll in it for all he cared. She had directly disobeyed his orders and his trust.

However, deep down, Law knew he would let her off easy. Having her under his direct command for two years had made him prone more to forgiveness than punishment towards her; something he told absolutely no one, not even his first mate, Bepo. It took nearly all his will power to opt for the anesthesia before he operated on her. He still had an urge to wake her up and submit her to the pain of his scalpel.

"What do you think happened?" The bear spoke again, pulling his captain out of a dangerous spiral of angry thoughts. The bear hadn't joined the ship's slaughter-fest, opting to follow his captain, who carried the bleeding Golden Thief back to the submarine.

"Well, it appears that she had a bad reaction to the kairoseki stone knife and it was enough to inflame her appendix." Law looked over to the bloody tray – having the said knife on it – knowing he should immediately set to sterilizing his instruments. In fact, he should sterilize them to cut her open again, after bringing her back to consciousness. He was that infuriated with her; his Golden Thief. The quarky bitch had humiliated him and betrayed Bepo's trust. She merited punishment of the highest degree.

"Captain?" Bepo's voice, again, pulled Law out of a dangerous reverie. "She didn't mean it, really. I shouldn't have stifled her movements."

"No, Bepo, I gave her explicit orders to stay with you, and she disobeyed them." The Surgeon of Death stood up to work on his instruments. "Not only did she make me look like a fool, she betrayed my trust of letting her walk around Shaboady."

"But Captain, she smelled like utter relief when we showed up." Bepo sat down next to Law's patient. The Golden Thief was lying on the operation table, unconscious and wrapped in bandages. The two areas of concentrated whiteness on her body were her right shoulder and the incision on her lower right abdomen, where the Heart Captain had made an incision to remove her appendix. She succumbed to a high fever after being rescued, and it took Law an hour to figure out the cause; which prompted him to remove her appendix.

"I don't fucking care if the bitch had opened her legs and begged for forgiveness, Bepo, I do not allow such behavior from my crew."

"She's not a bitch, captain. She's unique." Bepo whispered. The silence between the two pirates became prevalent, as Law's attention went to cleaning the surgery tools used on the Golden Thief.

"Are you angry because she got hurt, Captain?" Bepo's soft voice broke the tense silence.

A muscle in Trafalgar's jaw twitched, and the pirate captain dumped the whole bloody tray into the sink with a clatter. He would NOT get angry with Bepo. The bear had a good heart, and was completely taken with the woman. The Golden Thief had subverted his crew from week one; and it would take another two years to unravel her web of influence. Her unpredictable, bubbly personality had been infectious, spreading like sunlight; being just as containable. The treasure hunter had Bepo wrapped around her hand like a puppy, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Shachi and Penguin had been the next to fall, becoming like brothers to the girl and took it upon themselves to educate her completely about the Heart Pirates' past, present and future. The cook, Niel was the third to submit, the completely unique style of her kitchen presence growing on the chef until she was more often than not, a Su chef; assisting the man with meals.

Trafalgar had to give her some credit for not abusing her hold over his crew; so he had left it alone. But today, the bitch had gone too far and abused Bepo's trust. She had pulled off the fake-fire routine in order to escape Bepo's escort. Distracting the bear with a gift was only salt to the wound in Law's book and that was unacceptable.

"Tell the crew that the bitch is stable and should be left alone to rest." Law finally turned to his first mate and nodded. "Have Niel set aside mild soup for her later."

"Yes, captain." Bepo nodded and withdrew his white paw from the unconscious woman's hand.

"I'm going to clean up before taking a shower. I don't want to be disturbed for the next hour."

"Aye-Aye!" The polar Bear bowed before turning and exiting the infirmary.

XXXXX

Minutes after patching up his treasure hunter, Trafalgar Law stepped into his large captain's room. He just finished sterilizing his infirmary, the used scalpels and other tools, and needed to cleanse himself of her blood and grim. However, the bloody pirate was interrupted by a tapping at his door.

"Yes, what is it?" Law ran a tired hand through his spiky hair. Great, now he needed to clean his hair too.

The stout metallic door opened to show Bepo's questioning visage. The white polar pirate extends his clawed hand, a familiar long-strapped brown bag held in those deadly claws. The sight of the treasure-bag produced a wave of lust and rage from the Surgeon's system.

"Jean Bart found this at the battle site, Captain, he didn't know what to do with it." The bear hesitated at saying the girl's name; for fear of triggering a rage episode from his captain.

The captain nodded stiffly, watching as his first mate gently set the large pack on the bed before exiting the room quietly. Law's crew had been extremely angry and quieter than usual for the past two hours. Not once had anyone dared to say the treasure hunter's name aloud, and Law refused to break that silent taboo. It didn't matter that his crew were still bristling for a fight, upon seeing the injured condition of their female nakama. They all knew how angry their captain was for her breach of trust – Law informed them of her stunt; but they cared more for revenge over their female nakama's injuries. The bitch's injured-state affected his first mate the hardest; and the bear had skipped battling to protect her.

Trafalgar's eyes linger on the worn-looking satchel before he checked himself and moved into the shower. He had thoroughly investigated all of the items in the pack, prior to the Marine-ford war two years back. He was highly doubtful of finding anything worthwhile in the bag, as the treasure hunter had nowhere to shop during the Heart Pirates' stay on that remote island.

After the blood and grime had been cleaned from his person, Law sat on the edge of his bunk, drying his face with a brown-tan towel. His cold eyes stared at the satchel near his feet. Stupid little woman; leaving something as important as her treasure pack lying around the landscape. How foolish of her to leave something so full of items which could possibly be used against the Heart pirates. He knew how she stored nearly everything in that pack, but also that trident of hers, and a journal…in which she wrote in almost daily.

Smoky black eyes narrow at the thought; and the surgeon reached down to jerk the bag into his lap, dumping out the contents. A few gold coins trinkled out, along with jewels, shells and other bits of nature and some clothes. Trafalgar Law felt his brow raise as yet more rocks, sticks, shells and now books, continued to fall out of the deeper-than-deep bag. Just what kind of magic did his treasure hunter use on this ragged old bag to hold all of this shit? Finally, her trident and her green-covered journal clunked out of the pack, landing on top of the small pile of rocks and treasure at his feet. Law tossed empty sack aside, picking up those two items. The compact trident he set aside in favor of the journal; which he immediately plundered, leafing through until he found the newer entries.

_Post-Separation Day 4:_

_...just so bloody infuriating! Why does the Surgeon of Death continue to taunt me with the fact he won't let me go talk to Raleigh? Would it kill him to just let me go talk to the old man? Does he have to be so bloody possessive? Apparently so, because everywhere I go, I have at least one pirate of his with me, barring me from going to look for Raleigh. After searching all morning on day three, I still find no trace of Luffy or the others. Nobody on Shaboady knows anything about the Mugiwaras. Law better quit with the drugs. My foot's not that bad anymore._

Law flips to the next entry.

_Post-Separation Day 5:_

_...Law saw the puncture scar on shoulder, the one Kaku gave me back on Water 7 when the CP9 captured Franky, Usoppu and me. I had to go through some kind of checkup, since he apparently thinks I'm going to be a part of his blood-thirsty crew. He asks how I got the scar and he goes ape-shit on me when I refuse to talk about it. Law's such a control freak. Yeah, well, fuck you, Law, get off your high-horse! You can't possibly know everything about me if I don't want you to! Law sniffed me tonight, just like his bear did when I woke up a few days ago. The guy's a bloody pervert. I am wearing pants now, screw my ankle. I'm not tempting fate. It is beyond me why he's that interested in me…I'm not the prettiest one in the pack._

_Post-Shaboady Day 23:_

_The bastard drugged me into going with him! I'm going to kill him when he lets me out of this shitty room. I didn't get to even talk to Luffy! Fuck you Law, what are you trying to prove with kidnapping me? I barely remember what happened on Amazon Island, outside the plan of training for two years which Raleigh put in the letter I got. AGAIN, FUCK YOU LAW, YOU CONTROL FREAK. Screening my mail only proves you're paranoid…and a freak._

_Training Island, Day 65:_

_Law has got to be an insane-pervert-freak. He cold-shouldered me today after I refused to sleep with him. I'm not a sex-object to be played with everyday, pervert. I'm going to ask Tenjo the mechanic if I can get the locks changed on my door. The crew all are perverts. It's like they've never seen a female before. I'm sleeping with Bepo; that bear won't do anything to me but hold me. LAW IS PERVERT. LAW IS PERVERT. LAW IS A PERVERT._

_Training Island, Day 544:_

_Law kind of...congratulated me today. I made my first kill. The pirate was the captain of some weakling ship. The idiot and his crew were on our island beating up animals. I like, literally impaled the man in the neck. Not that I'm much surprised, because that dog-kicking son of a pond-scum had the nerve to call me a weakling and should know my place beneath his cock. I haven't been that angry about anything in a long time. This totally trumped my temper against Captain Kidd and his threats to rape/kill me if I didn't join his crew. I totally bitch-slapped that asshole, and got away with it. I would have gotten killed, if Law hadn't come in and pulled me off of the red-haired bastard. Then Law bloody dry humps me himself! My captain is way too bold and perverted for my tastes...at least he won't allow me to be sick or injured…_

Every entry after Amazon Island, excluding the four sentences pertaining to future adventures on Fishman Island, has some reference about Law and the Heart Pirates. Interesting.

He skims idly through the first part of the book again, brooding over his treasure hunter's apparently fickle nature. It seemed obvious from the latter half of the journal's entries that his Golden Thief was becoming unhealthily attached to the Surgeon of Death. Why else would half the journal be filled with his name? If that was the case, why would she leave him now? For a crew who all but vanished two years back? Law decided to ask her once she wakes up.

However, his Golden Thief might not be happy upon waking up, seeing as how he cut into her, but Law couldn't care less. He would thoroughly enjoy eviscerating her again and again; torturing her until the only thing that held sway over her and her thoughts was his voice and him. He would erase all memories of her previous captain; destroy that fucker of an old man, Raleigh; then obliterate any memories of her life before him. His own mother and her lectures on how to treat women could go hang. He was a cut-throat, blood-lusting pirate, not a gentleman, and it wasn't like the woman was ignorant of this fact. Trafalgar Law went back to reading; entry by entry.

_Hours Later:_

Closing the pages of the journal, the Surgeon of Death rubbed a hand over his face with a tired sigh. Looking out the small port window, Law noticed the passage of time. It was dark out and he had gotten lost in reading her journal entries. The curiosity inside him, the primal need to delve into her mind with the need know his treasure hunter intimately, had kept him awake and vibrating with energy as he read the words she wrote. Law's body was now adamantly letting him know it was time to sleep.

Depriving himself of rest would do nothing but make him slow and mistake-prone, a chance he couldn't take in the upcoming dangerous New World. He bent over, taking necessary time to put all the shit back into the treasure hunter's pack, before moving to shut his door. Making himself comfortable in his bed, Law closed his eyes and fell asleep with his hands still around her green-covered journal.


	6. Fake VS Real Plots

_Scroll 6: Pirate Plots_

She was infuriated. That Shichibukai bastard had slaughtered her crew without feeling the least amount of remorse – all because of that skank of a girl, the Golden Thief. Worse yet, the Surgeon of Death let his crew off their disgusting leashes and allowed them to hunt down and murder the rest of her crew, plunder and burn her ship and blatantly throw it in her face. Today was certainly Mana's worst day ever.

It started off so well, since her crew had finally caught rumor of the Golden Thief's whereabouts. The look-a-like skank had been so easy to disable. Her first mate, Junea, had thrown his lucky Kairoseki dagger at the girl, and Mana's Devil fruit, the Warp-Warp fruit, had done the rest. The Golden Thief was right there, under Mana's grasp, but who other than the Heart Pirates decide to show up, rescuing the little skank. Trafalgar Law was every bit as blood-thirsty as his name implied. The idiot pirate had gone insane on her crew, literally ripping limbs from bodies, inflicting excess bodily harm and ripping out hearts. It turned into a slaughter-fest.

The only reason she herself remained alive was because her dear, dear first mate Junae – who was possibly the last to die – had begged her to escape. Lady Smokey D. Mana had used her Warp-Warp fruit to do just that. The bastard Shichibukai was most likely still searching for her.

"Well, fuck you, you damned bastard of a man." Mana scream welled up from her gut and exploded from her lips. She then decided to hurl the piss-poor excuse of grog clear across the room, frightening the ten or so pathetic excuses of human life as the mug shattered into the cheap pile of crock it was.

The bartender, a pudgy ugly man with sallow looking eyes, glared at her. Mana gave him the finger and sat back down in her chair. Snaking her hand out and grabbing the green-wrapped candy which had been served to her on a delicate whale bone plate, Mana brought the fancy food to her eyes to glare at them. Mana was NOT going to be like her gluttonous once-childhood friend, Jewelry Bonney. That pink-haired skank had no control when it came to food. The long-presumed to be dead Super Nova wench had no knowledge on how to handle delicate sweets such as hand-made candy.

"Swell, a plateful of stolen candy is the only treasure I have left of my Shaboady treasures. Karma and her skanks…" The dark-chocolate haired woman snorted from her nose, forcing her raging thoughts to calm down. Everything, yet nothing, was falling apart. Mana had returned to Shaboady Grove to enact her nefarious plot of revenge.

It had started two years ago, on the very island on which she currently sat. The marines had politely entered her very expensive hotel room by the dozens. They all pointed the stupid standard marine-issued guns at her, demanding she surrender peacefully. Mana had been shocked, even outraged at the breach of social distinction. She was a well-to-do daughter of a notable marine captain (Captain Smoker) and never once had any merits of crime on her sterling record. The infraction put against her was the assault against the St. Roswald Family.

Had it not been for the bits of Karma that surrounded her; the fact of her half-noble heritage (her mother was paired with a high-ranking marine), the bizarre chance in the form of a devil-fruit on the table before her, and the pause her half-noble status gave the marines, Mana would have never escaped being arrested for another person's crime.

The devil fruit, a rose-red sphere with tiny squiggly lines, had provided her with the power to escape. Ordering the hesitant marines to wait until she had finished her meal, Mana choked down the fruit, which tasted like nefarious raw carrots (something she absolutely hated) and warped herself out of there. The fruit had been in the Akuma Fruit book, and it was listed as the Warp-Warp Fruit; a very useful power to have.

Since that day, she had been on the run from the marines and their stupid mistake. Mana had changed her name and researched the reason why the marines were after her. It was because the face on the bounty poster of the woman known as the Golden Thief looked exactly like Mana. Nearly going insane arguing with herself, Mana came to the conclusion that her doppelganger (a person who looks almost exactly the same as yourself) was none other than the Golden Thief; a woman whose transgressions were transferred to Mana.

Deciding to plot her revenge on the skank who ruined Mana's life, the once-marine child/now-pirate woman set forth and gathered a loyal crew of strong, leaderless pirates. Together, the Silvers pirates plundered, stole and researched every little thing about the crew which the skank Golden Thief was with; the Mugiwaras.

Following the events on Marineford, Mana was smart enough to decipher to message hidden in the news articles. 3D2Y. Having deduced that the Mugiwaras were on Shaboady to coat their ship (a ship which Mana viewed from afar); and the fact that a decent ship-coater would take a minimum of three days to coat a ship that size, Mana figured she had two years to set her revenge in motion.

So that was what tied her to Shaboady for two years. It was no pirate-romance adventure, since the Smokey Pirates never toured the Grandline. No, Mana would draw her prey to her, on her terms, her location: Shaboady.

Now, after finding her skanky doppelganger on the island anyway, Mana was thrilled beyond words. But revenge was ripped from her grasp by the bastardy hot-hunk of a pirate captain. Miss Mana; her rag-tag crew of loyal men dead, had to fall back to her original plan: to make a fake Mugiwara pirate crew and recruit stronger pirates. Mana would play the part of the fake Golden Thief in order to draw out the skank who ruined her life.

"Hey, Miss Smokey." A masculine voice interrupted her reverie. Sky blue eyes looked up to the voice's owner. The overly fat man, Three-Tongued Demalo Black, stood in front of her. The red shirt wasn't enough to cover his enormous stomach. His greasy black eyes (one sporting a painted on scar resembling the real scar on the real Mugiwara captain) ran over her form; nearly making her gag in horror. Demalo gave her a grin and tilted his ragged tan straw hat to her.

"You moron, 'Monkey D. Luffy'." Mana blanched out. "My name is Jiru, the Golden Thief. You best remember that if the plan is to work!"

"Ah, sorry 'Miss Jiru'." The fake Luffy frowned, taking a seat across from Mana. Behind the fat man, his crew of look-a-likes trailed into the table's area.

Mana's brainchild, her elaborate revenge to the world, was to find pirates who physically looked the part of the missing (and infamous) Mugiwara Pirates. Having found people who could fill that role (eight months back) the Smokey Pirates then proceeded to spread the rumor that the Mugiwaras would recruit pirates whose bounty exceeded the $70 million beri mark.

Now all Mana had to do was sit and wait on Shaboady for the idiot pirates to come flocking her to. In her original plan, she would have her own crew, the Smokey Pirates, to keep any troublemakers in check. But now, since her crew was dead, Mana only had the physical imposters to work with. Turning her blue eyes away from the fake Luffy, Mana viewed the others.

The fake Roronoa Zoro (Drad), was a pirate with a beer gut and three swords resembling those used by low-ranking marines, stood in the waning light. His looks and clothes made him to be a decent pass-off for the Pirate hunter; green hair included. The fake Cat Burglar (Kuka), was an older woman who was shorter with a big belly and an unusually large, oval shaped head. She stood next to the fake Luffy and was cat-smiling at Mana while drinking a beer. Mana shuddered inwardly.

The fraud Sogeking (Brarel) was just large as the pseudo-captain, the blue and yellow Sun-mask looking damned decent enough to be the real thing. It was a nice touch with the beard the man wore. The weapon in his pudgy was sturdy enough to use in battle. The imposter 'Black-Leg' Sanji (Drip) was a thin, reedy man with fluffy blonde hair. Mana had forced them man to start smoking and cooking, in attempts to be more like the real Sanji. The sad little prick was a really decent cook.

The woman who filled the role of the demon child of O'Hara was older, shorter and completely uglier than the real woman. Cocoa had been recruited by Demalo, and brought her pet fox, that was meant to be the fake Mugiwara pet, Chopper. The two were a sad looking pair. But nothing was sadder than the pirate prick who was chosen to play the role of the shipwright, Franky (Krane). The tall, thin man with his long neck, thick lips and no chin wore a dastardly blue and pineapple-print shirt and a blue speedo. The thick gold chain around his neck disgusted her even more.

"Seriously, welcome to Shaboady, Luffy." Mana/Jiru smiled a sickeningly fake smile. "Glad you could make it in time."

"It's all good, Miss Smo…Jiru." Demalo/Luffy laughed outrageously. The others all nodded to Mana and sat down. It was apparent that they were Demalo's crew, and followed his orders.

"Nice choices to fill the ranks, 'Luffy'." Mana was glad she had changed into more covering clothes, a green long sleeve shirt and jean jacket; similar to the clothes the skank had been wearing when Mana caught her. These piggish people were so going to die after her skanky doppelganger was gone. "I take it your mission was a success?"

"Ah-ah, Jiru-chan." Demalo was far too into his character. "I'm the captain now, so I give the orders."

"Fine." Mana hissed, slapping away Kuka/Nami's hand from her bone plate of candies. "You're the captain now; but it means nothing if nobody knows about it."

The evening was setting and the bar was tending to its lights in hopes to draw in more beer-buying customers and rake in the money. The shady building was perfect for Mana's needs. It was here she found Demalo, and set her plan in action. Now that plan was coming to fruit, and Mana would enjoy the chaos she would send at the Marines. Monkey D. Luffy's name would again surface, sending confusion and fear in the ranks of the marines.

"Relax, babe." Demalo laughed again, ordered him and his crew food and drink. "We followed your idea of spreading recruitment rumors around along with posters on this island. Now we just wait and reap the rewards."

"Indeed. But remember, I get to kill the little skank when she shows up." Mana narrowed her blue eyes at the raggy pirate crew under Demalo's command. "She is mine and mine alone."

"Uh, sure, Miss-Boss." Drip/Sanji sniveled out. "But we're free to do anything else around this dump?"

"Oh, you can set sail as the Mugiwaras for all I care; the real Golden Thief is my target." Miss Silvers felt like cackling. "As long as I kill the woman, I'm satisfied."

"Ah, don't be so serious, Jiru-chan." Demalo gulped his booze, leering at her grade-A body. "You have to do your part too, and that is to obey my orders."

Smokey D. Mana seriously opted for fragging her plan and throwing herself into the ocean to drown. Working with these fakes was going to test her tolerance for filth-interaction. The dark brown-haired woman sighed and finally opened a green-wrapped candy. The real Golden Thief was going to die, and all Mana had to do was find the girl. She couldn't have gotten far, if she was still injured with the kairoseki dagger.

Mana might snoop around more, gathering info on the Heart Pirates and see if they were still around. But it had been the worst day of her life – having dropped into even more shit when Demalo asserted his role over her – and Mana was tired.

The world would pay for ruining her life of luxury. She would find and kill the Golden Thief, let the fake Mugiwaras draw the Navy's attention and ire, then steal whatever treasure she could find and finally disappear for good. It was only going to get better from here on out.


	7. Rescue

_Scroll 7: Rescue_

Golden Thief Jiru was still angry beyond words. It was five days since those dumb Smokey pirates had come out of nowhere and attacked her. Five long, torturous days since her insane _ex_-captain had found her and marked her body up even more. Her arms, once natural and flawless were now marked and covered in tattoos. The insane and twisted Heart Pirate Captain had given her a matching set of tattoos; mimicking the set on his arms.

She had regained her consciousness after the attack to find herself compromised. No, she hadn't been raped; but seriously sore, like after a battle. She understood why her shoulder was bound and bandaged – she remembered being stabbed – but it took her a while to figure out why her gut ached the same way. It was Bepo, the polar bear nakama, who had come in and told her that Law had cut her open in order to remove her appendix, which had been inflamed – a reaction from the kairoseki dagger.

To say she went bat-shit insane was an understatement. The Heart pirates were kept from sleep by a very long argument that took place between the Golden Thief and the Death Surgeon. The crew walked on eggshells the next two days, fearful of not only their captain's rage but the Golden Thief's wrath – they did not want to trigger the attentions of either one of them.

It had been a shitty fourth night for the crew when Law finally enacted the Golden Thief's punishment; the consequence for her blatant disobedience days earlier. The possessive and strict Heart captain had injected hallucinogens in the Golden Thief and strapped her to the infirmary table. It had been a long two hours as Law sat in silence, watching his treasure hunter turn into a gibbering mess; ranting secrets that nobody else in the world would ever know about. The secrets Law uncovered from her unhinged mind pleased him enough to change his mind about physically harming her. The captain then proceeded to apply tattoos on her arms and hands; a declaration of just how much he owned her.

Her forearms had the faceless, circular shape that was the Heart's Jolly Roger; which were encircled by spiky rings. Her right hand's digits had the letters HEART printed in black, one letter per finger; while her left hand had the letters: THIEF. The backs of her hands had small versions of the Heart Pirates sign, a black circle with four lines extending.

The Heart Pirates wisely stayed out of the pair's way the next day; waiting out the storm on land; which led to day six with their female nakama was still uncharacteristically angry.

XXXXX

"Miss Kin-chan?" Bepo's voice came from beyond the locked metal door that stood between her and the freedom to go crazy-mode on the submarine crew.

The irate woman snapped open her lagoon green eyes and sat up. It was right after morning and Law had gotten it into his head that he had the right to restrict her movements by locking her into her room.

"God piss it, Bepo, you know I can't open the stupid door. Your bastard captain locked it from the outside."

"Oh. Right." The bear's voice was apologetic. A clicking sound was heard as the bear unlocked the door and entered. The mammal siddled in and close the metal sheet behind him. He held out the now-tailored white-jumpsuit she was now required to wear.

Jiru had also suffered Law's over-the-edge possessiveness with her material items, she had been clothes-less since yesterday. The bastard had ransacked her small collection of clothes, and made her watch as he burned them to slag. The only things he left here were her undergarments. Now he made her wear the same thing his crew all wore; the white, one-piece jumpsuit, with the Heart's insignia over the heart. The treasure hunter couldn't be more infuriated; but deep down, she was grateful Trafalgar Law didn't make her go around wearing nothing but her panties and undershirts. The man was a psychological bully; and in the same place which was thankful he didn't make her go in the buff, she was thankful again that he didn't decide to cut her into pieces and mutilate her body.

"Bepo-chan, I'm sorry I betrayed your trust and escaped by using a smoke bomb in the store." The Golden Thief sat up and sighed to the bear. Her current white jumpsuit, two sizes two big, was one Shachi loaned her. It had been her saving grace this morning for mess-hall. Trafalgar Law physically forced her to stop her brooding and join him and the rest of the crew for morning meal. She would never be able to overpower the strength of her psycho captain, so she ended up submitting to his orders.

"Apology accepted, Miss Kin-chan." Bepo bowed in his own apologetic way and held out the smaller jumpsuit to her. "Brodie finished tailoring this suit for you, Miss Kin-chan. I brought it to you so you could wear it."

"Thanks, Bepo." Jiru rolled off her bunk and grabbed the smaller white jumpsuit. "Your captain is psycho, did you know that, Bepo?"

"Yes, I do know that, Miss Kin-chan. But, you shouldn't have run off like that." The bear turned around while she changed suits. "I can still smell how angry you are, but Captain is angrier."

"WHY! Why would that bastard care if I took off or not. He has the charm to have any woman he wants hanging off his arm and he picks me! It's not like I had much of a choice of choosing what I wanted to do two years ago. Did you know he DRUGGED me so I couldn't stay with Luffy-chan!"

"I know, Miss Kin-chan." Bepo sounded despondent. "I'm glad you stayed with us, though. I would have missed teaching you karate."

"Can I at least have…-"

"No." the answering voice set her teeth on edge. Jiru turned around to see Trafalgar Law was in the room, and pointedly checking her out. The bear had been pushed to one side by Law's entrance and was bent over in apology. The fully dressed pirate captain leaned in the open doorframe, just daring her to make a run for it. It wasn't going to happen with the jumpsuit half-on her body.

"Bepo, please tell that waste of space to go jump in the ocean and drown." Jiru hissed between clenched teeth. Her lagoon green eyes pointedly avoided looking at the other man. The fact he wore his unique apparel – a black leather jacket, over a yellow and black loose shirt and black pants with yellow leopard print – was another slap to her face. The pirate was lording it over her and her lack of original clothes with his new outfit. In Law's hands he held two white, spotted hats; his old one which he reclaimed from her cloths pile and the newer, more sophisticated hat which had a visor.

"Miss Jiru-chan…" Bepo's face turned red as his captain advanced on the half-dressed female. "Captain?" The bear was more embarrassed of her state of undress when others were present.

"It's ok, Bepo. She's not going to do anything." Law gave his infuriating smirk, pushing the petite treasure hunter into the corner without touching her. "Are you, my little treasure hunter." He reached up and ran a few fingers through her now shortened hair. It was something of a pleasant surprise to discover the reason behind the change, and Law found the short, spiky style much more appealing on his treasure hunter.

"BEPO! PLEASE tell this walking sack of insane-shit to stop touching me." Jiru flinched away from Law's touch; and succeeded in making him grin even larger. The freak had some fetish with breaking her spirit of its rebellious streaks.

"You are very amusing when you try to order your nakama around, my treasure hunter."

"You AREN'T keeping me, you jerk." Jiru forgot her 'No-Speaking-To-The-Bastard' rule and shouted in Law's face. "Why are we going through this whole stupid 'lording-it-over-me' charade again? I hate you right now; you are a perverted, psycho control freak who needs to chill out!"

"Ah, choosing to speak to her captain again. How nice." Law chuckled and tossed the two hats onto her bunk. "I assume you are breaking your vow of silence now, my treasure hunter?"

"STOP calling me yours!" The Golden Thief had managed to get her arms into the white jumpsuit's sleeves. She'd be damned if she was going to remain half undressed while Law was near her. She still hated looking at her new tattoos.

"No." Trafalgar said. He grabbed her wrists as they went for the front zipper. Pinning them to the cold harsh metal wall, Law moved closer to his female. "You will not order me around, Miss Jiru."

"OW, let me go, you prick; you're hurting me." Jiru hissed in pain as the still-healing wound on her shoulder was stretched. By this time, the once restricted door now was surrounding by a few of the more curious crewmembers; one of the chuckled, earning a venomous glance from the restrained female.

"STOP STARING AT ME, YOU IDIOTS!" She cried out, trying to free herself of Law's steel-strong grip. Her shoulder screamed in protest.

"I advise you not to insult your nakama, Miss Jiru." Law frowned down at her. What he saw made him freeze. Tears silently rolled down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. This was a first from his normally feisty treasure hunter. Releasing her wrists and stepping back, Law grunted and lifted his old hat and placed in on her head.

"Miss Jiru." Law whispered as the woman lowered her arms and coddled her injured right shoulder. "Does your suit fit?" The Heart Pirate captain reached down for the zipper and pulled the device up, sealing the opening of the feminine jumpsuit.

"Go away." Came her answer, after her eyes opened again, still leaking tears. "I'm still mad at you."

"Hey, brat, answer the captain when he's asking you a question." Shinji, a black-haired navigator, one of six in the Heart Pirates, shouted at her.

"Shinji, shut up and go away." Law ordered briskly and turned back to his upset treasure hunter. "I shall return and escort you to evening meal, Miss Jiru."

The amount of noise made by the female after Law exited her room, locking the door behind him was akin to a yowling cat. It appeared she still had energy to rage. Trafalgar smiled to himself, and made his decision. He would never let her go. The Mugiwaras would have to fight tooth, claw and nail to reclaim the treasure hunter who was secretly the Silver Queen. She was his for eternity and nothing would ever change that.

XXXXX

_Return Shaboady: Day 11_

_I am writing in this new journal, since my EX-captain has confiscated my other one. That jerk. It has been ten days since we landed on Shaboady and I haven't seen any sign of Luffy or Zoro or even the sun. Trafalgar Law has decided to keep me locked in my room on his stupid little submarine. I'm sick of it and want to leave._

_Apparently, he is playing with me, because we have yet to depart from Shaboady. The only reason I can come up with for our continued stay is because he is waiting for something to happen. I figure that 'something' is the promised reunion Luffy secretly told his separated crew. I know they all are alive and somewhere in the world._

_My Reiki-Reiki devil fruit has grown stronger in the two years since that bastard Kuma separated us all because I can sense Zoro, Usoppu, Franky, Nami, Chopper and Sanji on the island. It is driving me crazy to not be able to go landside to find and reunite with my original crew. The Heartless bastard refuses to let me go out now. I guess my little smoke-bomb stunt ten days back really made him mad._

_I mean, COME ON, I was going to return to the submarine after finding, talking to Raleigh and plotting out just what was going to happen when the time for departure rolled around. I don't even know anymore; whatever foresight I had is forever gone. I think I used the last of it on that hellish island, T. Bark (I refuse to say THAT name again.)_

_I once knew minor, important details of the future when I first came to this world; like I was reading so many chapters ahead of the real world and knew what would happen next. Nothing too world-changing; just things that would happen to Luffy and the crew during fights and such. My dimensional guide, Shadra-Z, said to be extremely careful in revealing anything I knew of the future. I was very careful and used that foresight to help Luffy out in his journeys. I do not know what will happen when we unite again, but I must be strong and prepared for battle if it comes to that._

_I digress, if I cannot escape Law again, and join up with Luffy – to see him and the others again after two years – I think I shall go insane. Insanity on this floating tub is highly mandatory; that damned bastard Law injected me with freaking drugs and strapped me to the table. If I was in my right mind, I would have found the scene kinky; but I wasn't, so I had no control over what happened…and now Law knows everything…He is insane…_

XXXXX

Jiru finished writing the word 'insane' when the wave of recognition hit her like a sledgehammer, her heart jumping into her throat with breathless joy – Luffy was on Shaboady again! Her minimal Haki re-training on that jungle island three months ago was enough to regain her ability to recognize familiar auras. She had first gained that trick while crewing with Gol D. Roger so many decades ago, lost it when she left that dimension, and was reintroduced to it by Raleigh. Haki recognition coupled with her stronger Reiki aura-sensory was enough to bowl her over when Luffy's foot connected with the Shaboady lands.

"LUFFY!" She shot up like a bolt and rushed to the door; the journal and pencil falling to the floor with a clang and thump behind her. Pulling on the handle, the treasure hunter found it was still locked.

"DAMN IT, LAW LET ME OUT! I wanna go see Luffy!" the Golden Thief rattled the door in frustration, letting go of the handle with her right arm. Her shoulder tendons still were tender enough to not be used harshly. "COME ON, somebody has to be there! Brodie! Bepo! Shachi? Penguin? JEAN BART? ANYBODY!"

Nobody answered her cries. Minutes ticked by, and Jiru became more agitated. Pacing the floor, the treasure hunter wrapped an arm around herself, gently holding her right shoulder. Her excited pulse raced throughout her body, giving her the jitters. The white jumpsuit sleeve was unrestricting enough to not rub against the bandaged wound.

"Damn it, Law, where are you? Let me out, LET ME OUT!"

The submarine shuddered once, as if something extremely heavy landed on the deck. Seconds later, the rush of feet outside her door sent the woman to press an ear against the locked portal. Sounds of falling bodies, thumps of flesh falling to the metallic submarine floor, were heard.

"What the crap?" Jiru blinked in surprise.

If the stupid Smokey Pirates were stupid enough to attack the Heart submarine…more angry shouts were heard right outside her door as she could only imagine what was going on outside in the hallway. Was it marines? Another, stronger pirate crew? A pack of rabid lemmings the size of horses? Silence ensued seconds after; leaving the treasure hunter concerned for her temporary nakama.

Suddenly the lock on the door slid from its latch and somebody was opening the portal. Jiru growled in anticipation and slid into a fighter's stance; one of which Bepo taught her two years ago. Whoever was opening that door after doing whatever happened to her nakama was not going to defeat her so easily.

"Raleigh!" She cried when the door slid open, revealing the jovial face of the old pirate. "What the crap are you doing here!"

The Golden Thief lowered her fists and gave Raleigh a surprised look; which sent the old man into a light laughter.

"Good to see you too, Miss Jiru-san." The tough old man smiled warmly at her. "I was wondering where you hid yourself these past few days."

Running up to her ancient nakama, the Golden Thief yelped in joy as she threw her arms around the tall frame of the old man.

"Raleigh! You old goat, how'd you find me!"

"Oh, I have my ways." The white-haired man smiled larger and placed a hand on her head. "Nice haircut, I think it suits you well."

Lagoon green eyes looked into grey ones as the female smirked and stepped back.

"Just what are you doing here? What's going on? Is Luffy with you?" Jiru rattled off her questions. "You didn't kill any Heart Pirates did you?"

"Ah, well, No. Luffy-kun is not here." Raleigh looked down at his time-youthened nakama. "I came here to rescue you."

"What?"

"I have a thing for damsels in distress." Raleigh chuckled and stepped aside, signaling for her to exit the room.

"You're rescuing me?" A stunned female looked incredulously at the old man, then the corridor of the sub. Unconscious Heart pirates were sprawled out on the floor. Raleigh had most likely used his Haki to K.O. them.

"Indeed, I am, Miss Jiru-san." Raleigh beamed another smile, his eyes shining behind his glasses.

"Well, then, let's go going!"

Minutes later, after exiting the submarine for the first time in eight days; Jiru smiled and then frowned. Trafalgar Law had confiscated her treasure pack.

"Oh crap. My treasure-pack and trident are still in there." The Golden Thief turned around as if to delve back into the Heart's submarine. However, Raleigh blocked her entrance and held up a raggy old brown bag.

"You mean this, Miss Jiru-san?" the old goat smiled slyly, the gleam in his eye bright.

"Ray-chan, you're the best! I would be lost without my treasure bag!" Jiru laughed twice and once again threw her arms around the old man's neck.

"You flatter me, child." Raleigh chuckled. "But if you want to see your nakama again, I suggest you follow me."

"Right!" Throwing the bag's strap over her un-injured left shoulder, the Golden Thief stepped off the submarine and ran after Raleigh. She paused once, looking back over her left shoulder, giving one last glance to her temporary home of two years. Blowing a raspberry to the yellow sailing machine and its un-located captain; the Golden Thief resumed following her elderly, yet competent rescuer.


	8. Pirate Proclamation!

_Scroll 8: Pirate's Proclamation_

_Somewhere in the New World:_

Marco stared at the little red book for the millionth time in two years. He had recovered the journal once owned by Portgas D. Ace from the Yonkou, Red-haired Shanks. The little red book was one of the belongings of his best friend and nakama, the late Portgas D. Ace. Truth, for him and the remnants of the Whitebeard pirates, was still so difficult to believe: the fiery pirate was dead; buried next to their deceased captain, Edward Newgate, a.k.a. Whitebeard.

Opening the worn red book, Marco flipped to the last entry, in which Ace wrote about the woman of his soul; the pirate woman known to the world as the Golden Thief. Ace spoke of how quiet and intelligent the woman was; once she became comfortable and got to know you. Of how she wasn't a looker like some women of the world, but it did not matter to Ace because she was every bit the woman on the inside.

Marco the Phoenix was astounded by the degree of obsession the Fire-Fist used in writing everything, every little thought that happened to cross the deceased pirate's mind, about that woman. All of it was for the Golden Thief; of whom Ace never had the chance to introduce to the Whitebeard pirates as his soul-mate.

_Entry #?:_

_Tonight I told her about who my father was; and my fear about telling her. She completely surprises me by informing me that she already knows! I had never once seen that look of revulsion or contempt on her face. Not then, not since I met her, and not towards me; no, she holds those facial features for things that truly disgust her – sand worms, rotten food, the hopelessness of being lost in a desert._

_I laugh when I tell her of my observations, and she only scowls at my humor, not at the fact I am who I am. It truly is refreshing to speak openly of my heritage._

_She continues to surprise me when she returns the favor of telling me who she truly is and where she came from. I do believe my horizons of worldly understanding have been blown away forever. People who live life among the stars! Who travel in a vessel similar to a pirate ship, only totally engulfed to protect themselves against the 'emptiness' of space; a place that is totally lacking of breathable air? I first find this very hard to believe, but as she does her best to describe the things she has experienced in a way I could understand, I truly believe her. She is something truly wonderful._

_Entry#?:_

_The second night of being lost in the desert proves to be just as mind-blowing as the first. My woman has continued to stretch my belief of the astounding. She tells me of the thing called 'Soul Ribbons' which is the red ribbon that connects souls to each other for all time. I believe my soul is tied, bound to hers by chains of red. My heart pounds every time I touch her, my blood boils even hotter. I continue to try and get her to become a pirate on White-Beard's crew; promising her a great position, possibly that of third-legion commander. She continues to refuse. It drives me crazy._

_Entry#?:_

_It is to my great shock to my soul that my woman informs me she is going to be the Queen of the Pirates…again. I promptly disbelieve this outrageous fact; but the treasure hunter again, continues to educate me. She explains her and my brother's adventures dealing with the Rainbow Mist. She tells me that adventure will happen after they (my brother and his crew) save the desert country of Alabasta. Her continued explanation of her valuable foresight offers her visions of the future. I ask her if I will ever find and kill that bastard Blackbeard, and she only laughs off the question, launching into a confusing spiel of how 'Time' works._

_I cannot pretend to comprehend what she is saying, but I think she barely understands it herself. 'Time is a tricky thing, Ace.' Time Travel is very dangerous and confusing thing. If I were to travel into the past and have an adventure that dealt with long-dead people (like my father, Gol D. Roger), then come back to the same day I left, the adventure I had in the past would be known as fact._

_She herself didn't understand the whole thing if future visions of the past were involved, but I told her not to worry about it and go to sleep._

_When she sleeps, she is the most peaceful face I've ever seen. I think I shall try to pleasure her tomorrow night after we spend the day searching for my brother and his lost crew. I promise her I'll let nothing bad happen to her while we walk the desert._

_Entry#?:_

_It has been six weeks since I last saw my soul-mate, Jiru, and had to stop my search for that damned bastard, Blackbeard, to alleviate myself of the frustration. Our last night together had been heaven, because she allowed me to show her the sins of the flesh. The way she responded to my efforts was truly amazing. I believe I am now shackled to her by that 'Red-Soul Ribbon.' That wench kept me up all night long. It was unbelievable. I wonder if she is with child. That would throw the world into confusion, HA! Another brat with Gol D. Roger's blood running through his veins. I would be honored to father her child._

_Entry#?:_

_I have found Blackbeard's trail and it leads me to this island. I have yet to go ashore to check, but it appears that the bastard Blackbeard is there. I wonder what Jiru is doing; it's been six months since I last saw her. Just thinking about her throws my concentration. I better stop thinking about her if I want to take Blackbeard out – I will try for the bastard's head tomorrow._

Closing the book with a shake of his head, Marco knew the other entries by heart. From the Alabasta point onward, all Ace ever spoke about was his brother and the Golden Thief, who wasn't yet known by her bounty. Ace's last entry implied that Blackbeard knew about his brother and his woman, and threatened to harm them.

"Ace…how special is the woman, truly?" Marco muttered to himself, turning the red journal over and over in his hands. Whoever had the power to reduce Portgas D. Ace to a love-struck fool was one powerful pirate. It went to show that the Golden Thief was quite a powerful force. And if she did manage to bear a child from Ace, then the White-Beard Pirates would do their damned best to protect and keep that child safe.

XXXX

_Shaboady Island:_

Coming to a stop behind Raleigh, Jiru took a moment to slap her forehead in annoyance with herself. She could have used her Reiki-Reiki air-pad to rest on, reserved her actual physical energy for later. (Moving her air-pad around only required mental focus.)

"Oh Raleigh, you old goat, are you party-crashing?" The female chuckled to herself. She stood next to the previous pirate-king's first mate and looked down to the crowded scene below. There must have been up to three hundred pirates in the grove below, nearly all of them facing towards the make-shift stage of ruins. The building-turned-stage held some very interesting faces.

An extremely fat and rotund man stood at the front, obviously talking to the gathered crowd. His red shirt was like a bright, painted target and his face caused the Golden Thief to do a double-take. She focused her Reiki and used it to proverbially 'zoom-in' on the man's face. The fat man almost looked like Luffy! Good Gods, what twisted humor was this?

"Raleigh, that's not…" The slender female began to speak.

"…Luffy. I know, Miss Jiru. He is a fake." The white-bearded man chuckled. "Looks can be deceiving, as we both know of a certain woman who looks like you."

They both looked down to the woman who stood next to the fat Luffy. She looked every bit the part of the Golden Thief; even down to the facial features. The body was a different story, as she was well endowed.

"Ah, so you know who that crazy woman is?" Jiru looked at the old man, her confusion of having another 'her' down there. "Just what is happening around here? She's freaking me out…her face is mine, but her body is really curvy. Has there been a case of doppelganger-ism?"

"It would seem that way, yes. Many things have happened since the Marineford war." Raleigh hadn't yet announced himself to the crowd below. "If you would give a few minutes of your time before you go rushing off on your next adventure."

Raleigh placed a strong hand on the woman's shoulder. The Golden Thief/Silver Queen was looking to cause her mischief on the hapless pirates below. She was indeed different from the shy and quiet woman the Dark King had met two years back – this woman was wanting to stir up trouble by the second. Her intent to pin the look-alike woman down to ask questions was radiating from her thoughts.

"Luffy's down there somewhere, I can feel it. I've gotta go." Jiru bubbled as Raleigh held her back.

"Listen, Miss Jiru-san, this is important."

The Golden Thief turned to her old nakama and grinned, before turning serious. "Ok, what's up, Raleigh?"

"This, for one, read it when you have the time." The old goat handed her a small thin journal, brown and black. "It has vital information that will help you and the Mugiwaras in the future. It includes an explanation of just who that woman is."

"Ok."

"Also, the Marines have figured you out, Miss Jiru. They know you were Portgas D. Ace's woman." The old man pulled out a flask of vodka from his coat-cape, taking a swig of it.

"THOSE FREAKING PERVERTS!" The treasure hunter scoffed; her face turning red.

"There is more; the World Government also thinks you are the daughter of the Silver Queen. They have since raised your bounty to 390 million Beri." The old man removed a 'Wanted' poster from his sleeve and unrolled it. The poster sported a new image for her bounty: her face was in a place she recognized. She was floating in front of the human auction house, a smile on her face. The print below stated:

'WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE'

JIRU, THE GOLDEN THIEF

DAUGHTER OF SILVER QUEEN

$390 Million Beri

"Well, what the heck!" Jiru was stunned at this news. The woman looked at her updated bounty post, never thinking she would be worth that much. It intimidated her. "That's…more than Luffy-chan's bounty!"

"So, like your time in the past, Miss Jiru-san…" Raleigh continued to speak with his youthened nakama. "The marines are out to erase all trace of Portgas D. Ace's influences as well as punishing the 'daughter' of the Silver Queen."

"They never learn, do they?" Jiru sighed sadly, in response to Raleigh's mention of that type of genocide – the race of people who all had contact with Gol D. Roger and his son. She thought back to those vague memories of her time as the Silver Queen – those long decades ago from where the Rainbow Mist had thrown her into. It had been a sad time for her, and it seems history was repeating itself. "I guess you've figured it all out then, huh, Raleigh?"

"Indeed, you are right, Miss Jiru." Raleigh had not the option of leaving the dimension like Jiru did, back in the Era of Gol D. Roger. The infamous pirate only could grow old, as all things do. "I believe your son, Puma, is still alive, Miss Jiru."

"Good God, it really happened, didn't it?" The slender, dark-haired woman felt her glee fade as truth became evident. "You know Ace and I had a kid, only I was thrown back in time to bear the child? Damn Whitebeard for tearing a child away from his mother."

"Roger knew too, but never said anything." Raleigh said in a softer tone. "You knew Roger had the ability to read all things."

"This is nearly too much for my brain, Ray-sama, I gave up those memories when I left this planet. How long have you known?" Jiru spoke of her shedding of historic memories - something that had to happen if she were to return to the planet. All that she had left of her life as Silver Queen were a handful of facts, and whatever else the public knew about the Silver Queen.

"I've known, Miss-Jiru. I've known for quite a while; decades." Raleigh stepped next to the white-jumpsuit-wearing female and wrapped an arm around her. "Time is a complex thing, we both know that."

"You're terribly smart for old fart, Ray-sama." Jiru smirked as her elder nakama comforted her. Her response caused the old man to laugh heartily.

"Indeed, I am, Miss Jiru. And you…" He motioned to the now boisterous crowd below. "Are needed by your captain."

Turning and viewing the scene below, the Golden Thief rolled her eyes in annoyance as groups of marine pests had showed up while Raleigh talked with her. They had broken into Grove 46's meeting of pirates and began fighting. She was about to take off on her KAE-pad when her lagoon eyes spotted faces she hated profusely. The roly-poly marine brat, Sentoumaru, stepped out of a smoky cloud, his large axe sitting on his shoulder. His uniform was the same as two years back; red with gold karate print and a ropey red belt around his girth. But he now wore a white and blue print marine coat; its long hem fluttering in the smoky wind.

That was not the face that sent shivers down the Gold Thief's spine. It was the black-haired and hat-wearing face that ripped open that long-thought-to-be-stifled fear: Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma. Black shades sat over those laser-producing eyes as another – presumably fake – Kuma joined the first. Well, Shit.

Jiru watched, frozen in place by a surge of irrational fear and anger, as the fat Luffy squared off against Sentoumaru. Words were lost as the marine fat-brat knocked the fake-Luffy out and turned to focus on…HER LUFFY!

"Oh no you don't!" Jiru growled and lifted herself off the ground with her pad.

"Miss Jiru, wait." Raleigh chuckled from behind her. "Let's see how he gets out of this, shall we?"

"But…but…but…" Jiru pleaded, briefly thinking of Raleigh's previous and similar suggestion two years earlier, when the old man had asked her to wait behind the Slaver's stage wall. It had been when her Haki first manifested, and the thing had disabled her. But now was different; Jiru could handle the Recognition Haki, and could quell the many auras that flitted through her head. (She possessed the most common of Haki.)

Damn Trafalgar Law and his drug-dispensing, possessive brain. Jiru would have stayed with Luffy and trained with him on whatever island he and Raleigh had shacked up on. Instead, Fate had denied her that chance and sent her to be with the dangerous and sexy Heart Pirate Captain. The only Haki training she received was when Raleigh had visited the Heart pirate island six months back. The old man educated her on the uses and types of Haki; showing her the different types of Haki. Her aged nakama had left her unconscious after hitting her point-blank with his strongest Haki, the King's Will; something that Raleigh informed her that Luffy had; the rarest Haki.

She would have to repay his prank in the future; because by the time she woke up, which was a quick ten seconds later, the old man had vanished. There was no time now, also.

"RALEIGH! JIRU!" Luffy's voice snapped her out of her reverie and the Golden Thief was nearly bowled over by Luffy's monstrous output of joyous Reiki (his emotions turned into kinetic energy).

The Golden Thief felt her face split nearly in two as her eyes met his. Something imperceptible passed between them, dragging the moment out for an eternity.

"Luffy-chan." She said softly. It was a measure of how much she had grown in the two years when she saw Luffy's long, stretching arm arrow towards her; giving her time to avoid his well-meaning grab. "Ah, Ah!"

Lifting off the upper curve of the higher-placed Yarukiman tree root, Jiru laughed loudly as she zoomed towards Luffy in the glade below. She ignored the two other Mugiwaras (Sanji and Zoro) who had shown up in time to take out the Pacifistas.

"LUFFY!" Slamming into the pirate captain, she heard his wild, unrestrained laughter. "Long time no see, eh Luffy-chan?" Jiru laughed back into his ear.

"YOSH!" He was excited, looking into her eyes. "I've missed you so much, Jiru." Luffy had retracted his arm, following Jiru's flight path towards him and now his arm was holding her tightly as his other arm held his vaulted straw-hat. Brushing his excited nose against hers, Luffy turned his eyes to look over her shoulder. She followed his gaze and looked back up at Raleigh.

"RALEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIGH!" Luffy screamed past her ears. Damn, Luffy was loud.

Over on the tree root, Raleigh sat down and laughed just as loud; making his words fly across the distance to her and Luffy.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! I thought I'd just drop by and take a look." The old man's words came clear and strong. "But I suppose you don't need any help. You've gotten stronger still since we last met!"

"UH-HUH!" Luffy nodded exuberantly.

"Well, then, you have the last of your crew; you'd best be off."

"Yeah! Thanks for everything you've done the past two years. THANKS so much, Raleigh!"

"HA! No need for formalities, Luffy, go on!" Raleigh answered.

Luffy nodded once and peeled Jiru off his side, respectively placing her beside him as he lifted his free fist.

"RALEIGH…" Luffy shouted back. "I'M GOING TO DO IT!"

In Jiru's peripheral senses, the fighting between the multitude of pirates and marines paused; their awe of seeing such legendary pirates freezing them in place.

"WE'RE GOING TO BECOME THE PIRATE KING AND QUEEN!" Luffy's bold and loud announcement sent the grove full of people gasping in shock.

_Wait, WHAT!_ Jiru figured that Luffy was going to shout something about becoming Pirate King, but was shocked by his actual words. Pirate King AND QUEEN? That would mean…

The Golden Thief face-palmed herself embarrassment: hiding the red blush that stained her face. She hated being shoved into the center of attention like where she was undoubtedly positioned in now. The silence of pause the grove gave her the idea of eight hundred plus eyes on her and Luffy. Whatever obscurity she had was now forever gone. She must have stuck out like a sore thumb, because she just remembered she was wearing the stark-white jumpsuit Law had shoved her into earlier that morning.

"MELLORINE!" She heard Sanji's love-struck voice whickering to her right. Some people never change.

"GET THE MUGIWARAS!" The marines shouted and rushed towards her and Luffy; resuming the fight. "TAKE DOWN THE !"

"Uh-oh. Time to go." Luffy turned back to her and chuckled; hoisting the - good god, what was that thing! His backpack, it was the size of a baby elephant! - onto his back. "Well then, Raleigh, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!"

Turning and waving to her old nakama, Jiru placed herself on an airpad and followed Sanji, Zoro and Luffy away from the Grove.

"SEE YOU LATER!" Luffy shouted over his shoulder; keeping pace with his newly united nakama trio.

"THANKS AGAIN for the rescue, OLD MAN!" Jiru shouted also. "SEE YOU ON THE FLIPSIDE!"

"Indeed." Raleigh said. "HEAD STRAIGHT FOR THE TOP, BOTH OF YOU!"

The Dark King stood back up and looked at the rush of marines chasing his two apprentices. Smirking to himself and placing the flask back into his coat's inner pocket, Raleigh rush-jumped down, drawing himself up as imposing as possible. He ceased the marines' rush forward with a sword slice to the ground.

"My apprentices are setting sail." He glared at the horde of marines. "Do as you please, but I suggest…" He had them all enthralled to his every word. "…that you do not cross that line."

Behind him, Raleigh felt Luffy and Jiru retreat; heading towards the ship he coated. It would be something to watch as the young-again Silver Queen would tackle the New World again; memories clean and clear of her previous encounters. She and Luffy would make a great pair.


	9. Set Sail! New Romance Dawn!

_Scroll 9: Set sail! New Romance Dawn_

"No, No, No, no, no, no…NO!" Jiru chanted like a mantra.

In front of her stood none other than Trafalgar Law; with up to eight of his pirates (Bepo, Shachi, Penguin and Jean Bart included) behind him. Not only did Trafalgar Law look extremely smug and trigger-happy, but he and his crew stood between her, the Mugiwara Monster Trio and the Sunny-Gou. "WHY!"

Behind her – now in front – Sanji, Zoro and Luffy shifted into fighting positions. This was THEE worst time to pick a long-haul fight; which would undoubtedly drag out to be if Law attacked Luffy. Marines were closing in fast behind them; and out on the last choppy waters of the Grand Line were two marine-war ships; aiming their cannons at the Sunny-Gou.

"I knew you'd come back to me, my treasure hunter." Law greeted her with his aggravating possessive tone. His body language was raw and suggestive. "Couldn't leave me without one last fuck in the bed, could you?"

"What did you say?" Zoro growled in response to the Super Nova's taunt. The samurai did not at all like the level of intimacy Law was showing his Chibi-san.

"How DARE you talk to a lady like that, you bastard!" Sanji cursed at the Surgeon of Death. The goatee-wearing cook was bristling at the bit; wanting to blow off energy from being denied by a beautiful woman. (The Golden Thief and Monster Trio had briefly met with the pink-haired ghostie-woman, Perona, minutes before. The Ghost-toting woman helped them escape the hounding marines by using her Negative Ghosts on the marines.)

Luffy was looking at Law with a perplexing look upon his face. The Mugiwara captain vaguely remembered Law's face from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it.

"Law! I told you so many times before; I am not 'yours'." Jiru hid her face in the palm of her hand, her mild fear turning into an embarrassed-annoyance. The treasure hunter was fully aware of the other Mugiwaras on the Sunny-Gou behind Law, looking confused and wondering if there was going to be a fight. The other captain continued to spew suggestive body language.

_Please…not a fight…anything but a fight between rivals – here and now of all places._ The Golden Thief thought to herself. "We gotta get outa here; the Marines are on our tail, so move it!"

"And I have told you, Miss-Jiru; that you will not give me orders." The bulkier Law looked straight at her, leaning on his nodachi like a staff. "I am curious how you managed to get through my crew and escape the submarine, my little treasure hunter."

"I'm not telling, you possessive jerk!" She lifted her head and stepped around Luffy while he continued to puzzle out why Law was so familiar. "However, I AM thankful for your hospitality given the past two years, and the way you saved Luffy-chan, but that DOES NOT mean I'm yours."

"I beg to differ, my Treasure Hunter." Behind Law, Bepo was looking at the ground, saying nothing. The polar bear wanted to rush forward and hug his female nakama farewell. He, like the male Heart Pirates behind the bear, knew of the brief, sketchy plan Law had created on the fly. It was rather mean and heartless, but the bear didn't say anything against it.

"She is NOT yours, you bastard." Zoro stepped forward, his hand grasping his sword firmly.

"Oh? Then why is she wearing the uniform of the Heart Pirates?" Law gestured to her white jumpsuit. "As well as sporting my old hat?"

"Oh geez." Jiru once again slapped her face with a hand. Indeed, Law was on the mark, drawing attention to her rather unique uniform. The round, fluffy hat sat on her head, its black spots clean and crisp on the white fluffy material. "I see how it is…"

She knew the way Law loved to twist words and scenarios to his will. He just had to point out she was wearing his uniform. Jiru quickly yanked off her hat and stuffed it into her bag.

"Jiru-chwan?" Sanji's questioning voice was directed at her. The cook becoming aware of the odd suit she wore, and scowled when he saw the Heart logo over the chest.

"Don't ask…Just…don't ask."

"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" Luffy suddenly shouted. "You're that person from the Human-selling house, Trafaygay Lay!"

"It's Trafalgar Law, Luffy." Jiru automatically corrected her first-captain. The two years she spent with Law had conditioned her into respecting the Surgeon of Death. "The Super Nova: Trafalgar Law, Surgeon of Death."

"Oh, right." Luffy looked at her and she looked back. "What's he doing here?"

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR IDLE CHIT-CHAT, MUGIWARA!" Franky's voice bellowed out from the Sunny-Gou's deck. "We have to LEAVE RIGHT NOW!"

"Yosh! Right. Let's go!" Luffy took the hint and threw his elephant-sized backpack onto the ship; scaring the ever-loving life out of Nami, Usoppu, Chopper and Brooke.

"LUFFY, YOU ASSHOLE! You could have killed us!" Nami screamed at her lack-a-daisy captain.

"Nami! Usoppu! Brooke! Chopper! Franky! ROBIN!" The pirate captain chuckled; obviously happy to see the rest of his crew together again. The Mugiwara pirate captain then faced Law: a serious look filtering into his black-brown eyes. "Did you take care of Jiru-chan these past two years?"

"I did." Law answered, his weight shifting between his feet. The black-jacketed pirate nodded his head in truth. "I took good care of her too."

"Thank you." Luffy grinned at the Surgeon of Death. "I hope she wasn't a bother."

"WHAT!" Jiru screeched; giving Law, then Luffy, the stink eye.

"She wasn't." Law smirked back.

"We need to get going now; to the New World." Luffy nodded to Sanji and Zoro, letting them know he had the situation under control. The two other pirates nodded back and resolutely walked by the Heart Pirates to the Sunny-Gou. "So thank you for taking care of Jiru-chan again and for saving my life."

"She paid your debt, Mugiwara." The dangerous Nova stated evenly. "I just wanted to inform her that the debt is still not completely paid."

"LET ME GO, LAW!" The Golden Thief was looking out over the ocean. The marines were closing in fast. Neither crew had time to drag this stupid issue out – of who was going to sail away with the Golden Thief. "If you two would stop throwing testosterone around, then we could all escape…Law." she coughed.

"Indeed." Law and Luffy stared at each other; neither one backing down.

"MUGIWARA!" Franky shouted again. "We've raised the anchor…ANY SECOND NOW WOULD BE NICE!" Marine cannons began firing; their aim was the Sunny-Gou and the pirates. Luffy backed down first, looking away from Law's smoky black eyes.

"I'm giving you an hour's head start, Miss Jiru." Trafalgar Law turned to the floating female. "Then I am coming after you."

"Huh?" Jiru looked at her temporary captain. "Say what?"

"Fifty-nine minutes." Law smiled evilly at her. "The clock is ticking."

"You're insane! Why can't you just release me so I can go with…"

"Fifty nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds…" Law counted off, tapping his nodachi-hilt against his shoulder.

"NO!"

"Fifty eight minutes."

"Luffy, let's go!" The Golden Thief huffed in frantic annoyance and swooped onto the Sunny-Gou deck, giving the surgeon-pirate captain the birdie.

"COMING!" Luffy chuckled to himself and stretched his arm, grabbing the railing of the ship. Landing firmly on the deck, he spun around and caught the trident that Law had tossed at the treasure hunter. "What's this?"

"Don't forget your weapon, Miss-Jiru." Trafalgar was now facing the moving ship. "It would be a shame for such a treasure to be misplaced."

"YOU JERK, TRAFALGAR LAW: GOOD BYE FOREVER!" Jiru shouted back at him as Franky announced he was submerging the Sunny-Gou. The treasure hunter stomped over to Luffy and yanked the trident from his hand. "You AREN'T taking me back."

"No, my treasure hunter, this is not good-bye." The Surgeon of Death's words weren't heard by the Mugiwaras as the Sunny-Gou crew focused on avoiding the Marines. "And yes, I am going to claim you again, in the New World." Law chuckled to himself as he achieved his goal; the psychological control of his treasure hunter. She was now in the mind set of out-running him. The hunt would be most rewarding when he would finally catch up to her and showed her just how much she could not escape him.

"Let's go, Boys. We have a bit of time to spare before going after Kin-chan." Trafalgar Law turned around to face the mass of marines who appeared seconds too late in chasing the Mugiwaras. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

"Aye-Aye!" Bepo snapped to attention, turning away from the pirate ship sailing out and under the Grand Line Ways. The Sunny-Gou was no longer in sight, and well underway to Fishman Island, thousands of meters below. The bear was excited to chase after the treasure hunter; which was all part of Law's master plan. The Heart Pirate Captain never had any intention of letting the woman free of his command. The thrill of hunting her appealed to the polar bear; and even though Bepo would never kill her - only if Law ordered him to - the chase still enflamed the bear's blood.

XXXX

_Elsewhere on Shaboady Grove:_

"It was HER idea!" Drip pointed behind the greasy looking pirate man. Mana face-slapped herself as the attention was pinned on her. The pirate, who was known to her as Wet-Haired Caribou, turned around to face her.

"AH, you…" The dangerous look on Caribou's face sent shivers down Mana's spine. He was psychotic; the look all too evident in his eyes.

"Yes, me. I am the mastermind behind the Fake Mugiwaras." The vixen-ish copy of the Golden Thief confessed to the pirate rookie named Wet-Haired Caribou. She watched as the pirate's hand oozed outward, becoming an ever-moving mass of mud – mud in the coloring of his body and clothes. Drip was caught in that goopy grasp, the pathetic blonde-imposter's head becoming engulfed.

"So you are the one who set this hoax up?" It was obvious she wasn't facing a completely incompetent brain here.

"Yes I am. Would you like to know why?" the dark-haired woman canted her body in a tilt.

It had been ten minutes since hell broke loose on her revenge plot: the fake-Luffy was about to recruit all those dangerous pirates when the marines decided to show up; along with her ex-fiancée, Sentomaru. That fat pig ruined all her fun yet again, letting loose his stupid war-machines to round up the pirates the Fake-Mugiwaras had recruited.

Not all the pirates, it would seem. Sentoumaru wasn't as thorough as he proclaimed himself to be. The Blood Pirate crew had escaped and was currently tormenting the fake Mugiwaras. It would seem that they were not at all happy about being duped. Mana created a plan on the fly, and approached the crew; hoping to gain a berth on their ship. With enough convincing, she might still have a chance to chase after the Skank.

"Kehehehehehehe, how delicious." Caribou leered at her. It looked like the luscious woman had caught his interest; which won out over the need murder her.

Mana innocently placed a finger on her moderately plump lips. Using her charm and sex appeal, she hoped to prolong her life long enough to gain the pirate's assistance. Scanning him quickly, she stored what the pirate captain looked like in her head:

He was a tall man, the tendrils of dark hair reaching down to his shoulders, complete with a distinctive wet-looking tuft giving him his epithet. A beard in the shape of a whirl sat on his chin. His psychotic-looking eyes had many circles around the pupils; his ears were pointy, and his limbs, long and lanky. His long, lizard like tongue flicked in and out often, sending shivers up her spine.

Caribou wore a coat, which appeared to be made of fur: dark on the outside and lighter and spotted on the inside (similar to a leopard's). A cape draped over his shoulders and dark pants and shoes covered his lower anatomy. He wore an extremely long-sleeved shirt (which was splattered with blood) with a cross-like design on the chest and the long sleeves resembled an unbuckled straitjacket sleeves.

"I am out for revenge." Mana simply stated; carefully; as to draw his curiosity over the radiation of evil coming from him.

"Is that so, Kehehehehehehehe." Caribou lifted the now inert Drip, looking at the possibly dead pirate with sadness. "It wasn't against this sad little life form, was it, my dear?"

"No, it wasn't." Braving the fear and growing attraction to the deranged rookie, Miss Silvers took a step forward. Behind Caribou and the faux Mugiwaras stood more pirates; all of whom wore similar white outfits as their apparent captain. "It is against the real Mugiwaras."

The fake Mugiwaras: 'Nami', 'Zoro', 'Sogeking' and 'Franky' knelt on the ground, trembling in fear of Caribou and his crew. All four sad excuses looked, pleadingly, at her to save their lives. Drip, the fake 'Sanji' was dropped in front of them, dead as a rock; having drown in the Swamp-man's goopy grip.

The larger man behind Caribou, who wore a dead lizard as hair, was too busy digging holes in the bubbly ground; presumably to bury the unlucky frauds within.

"Oh that's such a shame, Caribou-kun, why'd you have to go and kill such a decent cook?"

Caribou rushed at her; obviously not liking her comment. Mana D. Silvers flinched as warm goop covered her lower face, neck and upper chest. Caribou wrapped his other arm around her waist, drawing her against him. "I do not like your tone of voice, missy." The rookie's voice was strong and hypnotic, giving lie to just how insane the pirate was.

Being unable to speak as Caribou's hand firmed against her mouth, Mana felt an erotic fear wash through her body, causing her to tense her muscles. Just how far had she fell, to react to such blatant disregard to her personal space. It was most alluring, sending shivers up her spine. It had been a long, long time since a male touched her like this.

"However, I am willing to hear your curious story, missy, since you are so…" His warm, wet tongue flicked out and trailed along her exposed neck. "…delicious."

Whatever Mana would say next; she felt that would either save her life or end it. She grinned, accepting the challenge. That Skank would die yet.


	10. Under The Sea

_Scroll 10: Under The Sea_

"WHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEE-AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Luffy's voice echoed in Jiru's ears.

The Golden Thief was currently sitting on an air pad, cross-legged, and covering her ears with her hands. Her sense of hearing was bombarded by an instant silence; a lack of the numerous land noises. The _Sunny-Gou_ had just reverse-surfaced; sinking below the waves of Shaboady. This action had cut off all surface sound; and the most prevalent – the white noise of bubbles forming and popping unique to the Yarukiman trees – suddenly ceased; like some Vearth-en god turned the sound off with a switch-flick. The sudden silence paired with Luffy's excited yelps and greetings to his reunited crew left her hearing very sensitive – from the pitch change.

Looking up to view the breath-taking scene of underwater, the Golden Thief gave a small whistle; it was stunning – like a whole other world. Light filtered through the ocean water, sending wavy beams bouncing back and forth on the _Thousand Sunny_. Fish of all sizes and color darted to and fro, living their short lives at a fast-pace.

Then there were the 'roots'. The mangrove roots - pillars of gigantic proportion - were every bit as large as the mangroves above. Grey and green stripes wavered in the sea, distorted by the viscosity of the salty liquid. If Raleigh's ship-coating job failed now, they'd all drown; not that the treasure hunter ever doubted the old goat. It was just the way her thoughts flitted about.

"The surface is already so far away." Robin's strong voice said from behind the treasure hunter.

"It's Suuuuuppaa beautiful. You cannot achieve a view like this from any submarine. That's for sure!" Franky's booming voice replied to Robin. "There wouldn't be a window large or strong enough."

"We're sinking! Farther and farther down." Chopper's awed voice came from her left. Normal. Normal-toned voices were good. Jiru's hearing slowly was fixing itself; compensating for the sudden change. "Is the water really going to stay out? It's really scary!"

"This watery world makes me feel like we're leaving behind the land of humans! So exciting…" Nami gasped; her excitement evident in her voice.

"We-we'll get b-back to the surface, ri-ri-right?" Usoppu hadn't changed at all; his voice stuttering with intimidated warbles. "I'm mean, I'm not scared or anything…but…"

"Whoa, look over there! Over to that side." Brooke's sing-song vocals directed them to look.

"WHOOOOOOOOAAAAA!" Luffy's voice echoed again, bouncing off the bubble-like coating that coated the lionisque ship. "THE SSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAA; SOOOOO PREEETYYYYY!" Chopper and Usoppu's voices joined their captain's switched joy, crowing in joy at the sea-life that rotated around the dropping Sunny-Gou.

"What is that?" Sanji's inquiring voice caught her attention. "A tree!"

"A ROOT!" Chopper cried. "It's a ROOT!"

"Of course it is, Chopper." Jiru chuckled. "Shaboady is a bunch of mangrove trees, after all; a forest of them."

"Their roots must reach all the way to the seabed." Leave it to Robin to be educational. "The sheer magnitude of it is impossible to put into words."

"The Wonder of Nature in all its glory!" Brooke whispered in awe, coming up to stand next to the treasure hunter.

"I've seen it already." Zoro said, joining the musician.

"What the hell. Shut up, you shitty swordsman; we don't care how you got lost on that other ship. We're trying to be in awe here." The bickering had already started between the Cook and Samurai and it felt normal. It was great to be back.

"Forget that! Something larger is behind the root!" Usoppu's trembling voice came clear; it seemed her ears were finally used to the pressure change.

"WWWWAAAA, it's just as large as the root!" Chopper cried. The Golden Thief just smiled, floating in sync with the descending ship. She was hardly afraid of huge fish. Her previous captain had made her fearless of dumb Sea Kings. But the coelacanth-sea-king was indeed as large as the mangrove root.

"THIS IS SO EXCITING! Look at all the fishes!" Luffy cheered again. "It's like a grand adventure under the sea!"

The treasure hunter pulled her eyes away from the breath-taking view of the under-ocean and looked over to the excited form of her captain; leaning to recline on her KAE pad. It was amazing how much the Mugiwaras had changed during their two-year separation. The Golden Thief had yet to reacquaint herself with each of them since they had set sail. She did so now.

Luffy was the same, yet completely different. Two years old had placed a type of maturity on the captain, but did not dampen his youthful, energetic personality. His attire consisted of a dark-red shirt with buttons, tan Capri-pants, a red belt and his treasured straw hat. His body was stronger, slightly taller and full of muscle. The only stark difference was the large, jagged X across his chest; a wound that was scarred over. The wound was, for Jiru, a painful reminder of the Marineford war. She had failed her captain in regards of being there to protect Luffy's back – and front – and he had received that X-scar from the one of the few people she loathed most: Admiral Akainu. Other than the scar, there was more knowledge in those black eyes, and she knew Luffy had matured a long way while not diminishing his exuberance for life.

Her eyes fell on Usoppu next, and she was impressed. The Sniper had buffed out during the two years and it almost made her regret breaking up with him before. (Their separation was more like a drifting apart from lack of her interest in his continual tall tales and happened before Rainbase in Alabasta.) Usoppu currently wore no shirt – yummy – which showed off his chiseled chest. It wasn't exactly chiseled, but formed enough to be considered firm muscle and not flab. The long-nosed coward had been under-toned; skinny to the point of scrawny. His torso was covered in his favorite-style pants, new and tan-colored; red straps held the long pants up and another strap was there to hold his ammo satchel there. His black, curly hair – which was pulled back with a tie – sported a floppy white hat and earphones wrapped around his head.

Next to Usoppu was the Chopper-man. Jiru loved Chopper; he must have changed also, but was currently in his chibi-form – looking the same as before. His shirt was different, white-red stripes, and his faded sakura-colored funnel hat was replaced with a beret; large, circular and red. The X remained in the center, being surrounded by a white circle. He sure was cute.

"SUUUPPPAAA!" Franky's voice, responding to whatever it was that Robin had mentioned about large fishes and roots, drew the Golden Thief's eyes to the pair. Franky was the one who changed the most; with drastic upgrades to his cyborgic body. He was twice as tall as her now; and nearly half-more as wide. Everything about his metallic body was bigger, stronger, flashier and no doubt, better. The shipwright was currently playing with his nose, using a smaller, extendable hand from the massive first hand that sat on his wrist.

"HAY, Aniki, stop playing with your face like that. It might freeze like that and you'd be unable to 'change'."

"Hentai?" The blue ram-horn hairdo Franky currently set his hair on – by pressing on his sharp, metal nose - swiveled as he turned to her. "What are you trying to say, Chibi-Sis? That's I'm better than before!"

The shipwright put his large hands to his ears and proceeded to act like a pompous jerk. Jiru just laughed at his antics. "Just don't hurt yourself with those clunky forearms and shoulders, Aniki."

"Waaaoooow." His massive chest, which looked to be divided in three segments, flexed as he lifted his arms into the arm. His upper arms came together with a clank and formed his once-trademark blue star, which was larger. Good heavens, his forearms alone were bigger than her. The treasure hunter didn't want to know the measurement of his round black shoulders: they looked like 3-ton ball-weights. A white stripe ran through the middle of those round shoulders, and had: BF – 37 STAR (the shape, not the word) printed within. "You like the sheer romance packed into this body of mine, Chibi-Sis? Waaaooow!~"

"I agree that your body is packed with something; but with romance?" The treasure hunter cocked a brow, showing her jest.

"Fuuuuu, that's harsh, Chibi-Sis." Franky broke down and looked pitiful, his expression changing from ecstatic to depressed. "You are such a short-bitch."

"Collector-san, you are silly." Robin walked up next to Jiru. "I believe Pervert-san was trying to come onto you."

The treasure hunter looked at the Archeologist in surprise. The older woman's rather revealing black zip-up shirt and wrap-tie cream skirt was enough to make the Golden Thief feel unsexy. Robin's longer, slicked back black hair made the Hana-Hana DF-User even more gorgeous to look at. A pair of sunglasses sat on her head; making her look even more sophisticated.

"WHAT! But, I can't go out with him, he's YOUR boyfriend." Jiru retorted, snorting at the sensual waves rolling off the historian.

"Fufufufufufufuufu." Robin did NOT blush, damn her. Did nothing faze this cool-collected woman?

"YOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" Brooke's unique laugh interrupted the two women. "Ah, mademoiselles, you are in need of male company?"

"Whatever makes you say that, my dear Brooke." Jiru turned her gaze on the bone-musician. The swordsman-musician hadn't changed much; except for his apparel-accessories. The large, obnoxious-orange feather/fur boa hung around his neck, clashing with his blue gentlemen crest-tie. His pants were red with white flower print, making him look like a drug-smoking hippie. A large sized golden king's-crown sat on his black afro as did pink heart-shaped lens that made up his sunglasses. Brooke looked every bit like the smash-sensation: Soul King.

"You were about to show me your…ah…panties."

"Like hell I would, you pervert." The shorter female smirked. "…if I HAD any on to show."

"!" Brooke froze at her statement, and then promptly toppled over as blood trickled from his nasal-cavity hole.

"Got cha, Booke."

"Fufufufufufufufu." Robin chuckled again as the treasure hunter poked fun at Brooke.

Shaking her head and laughing; Jiru moved her eyes onto Nami, Luffy's third nakama. Damn, the Cat Burglar was something to look at, like Robin, and it made Jiru blush doing just that. Both their feminine busts had inexplicably filled out, unlike her own; and they wore the size proudly. The Golden Thief placed her chin on her hand, and leaned on it as she processed Nami's new look. The orange-haired navigator had filled out nicely in two years, had grown her tangerine-orange hair long, and carried herself with more confidence and pride than when Jiru had first met her. Wearing jeans and a bikini top, the Navigator was busy barking out knowledge to the rest of the crew; knowledge about the bubble-coated ship, their navigational course and information Raleigh had given her. Which drew the Golden Thief's eyes to the next person: Sanji.

"Holy crap!" Jiru gasped as Sanji suddenly propelled himself of the deck of the ship; powering his flight with a nosebleed. "What the hell!"

"SAAAAAAANNNNJIIIIIIIII!" Luffy, Usoppu and Chopper screamed. Jiru quickly moved into action and lifted her hand to catch Sanji with a KAE pad, but was surprised when the cook popped out of the bubble, like a slick fish out of wet hands.

"SANJI-KUN!" She yelled in shock. The cook was out of the protective bubble coating and floating, in his aroused state, in the ocean! To her further surprise, Luffy's arm shot out into the sea, grabbing the floating cook and dragging him back through the bubble onto the ship.

"Wow, Luffy, you've gotten gutsier." Jiru chuckled to her captain as she squatted down beside the loopy cook. She poked the cook in the cheek; chuckling to herself. "What is wrong with him, Chopper?"

"I don't know, Jiru-san. This is something new with him." The furry doctor was busy hooking up a blood transfusion stand.

"I'd say; it was never this bad before, his female fetish."

"Shishishishishi." The black-haired pirate grinned down at her. Luffy was standing over her, looking down at the wet, semi-conscious cook.

"I've never seen the Ero-cook like this. I suppose you should cover your boobs, shouldn't you, Nami?"

"Like hell I will!" The navigator scowled at the suggestion. "Would you just shut up and listen!"

"Fine." The tension crackled between the two thieves; seeming to drag out forever.

"NYAH! It's so good to see you again Nami-sis!" Jiru caved in first, feeling the smile split her face as she lurched forward to give her girlfriend a hug. "Hot da-yum, if I might say, you've grown a lot."

"Thanks, Jiru-san." Nami's feisty face split into a grin also, as the treasure hunter hugged her. "What about you?" Nami extended a finger to press against the Golden Thief's same-as-ever-sized chest. "It looks like you've been missing out on your growth pills."

"YAAAOOOWW!" Franky's voice interjected. "That's a low-blow, Girly-san."

"Don't call me that."

"Chibi-nee-san is just as much of a woman now as she was two years ago. YYAWWOOO!" the hulking cyborg came up to stand behind the floating treasure hunter. It was his duty, as the Golden Thief's Aniki (boss-brother?), to stand up for his kin. Franky, aka Cutty Flam, had since gotten over his pining for his right and left hit-women: Kiwi and Mozu – taking the shortest Mugiwara under his wing like he did with the two women decades ago.

"MELLORINE!" Sanji's sudden outburst startled the three, as the delirious cook latched onto Jiru's legs, soaking them with seawater.

"Uggghh..." The Golden Thief swayed as the liquid quickly soaked through her white jumpsuit with enough quantity to weaken her.

"Whoa, easy there, Chibi-Sis." Franky reached out and steadied her.

"You idiot, Sanji!" Jiru dropped a foot to the grassy deck, the sea-water-soaked pants disabling the KAE pad she had used to boost her height. She gave a warning kick to the cook's side. "Get off me."

"WAAAHH." Chopper squeaked in concern. "Don't kick him, Jiru."

"Oops, sorry." She apologized. By now, the rest of the crew had turned their attention to Nami and her lecture of the how, whys, and what of the Bubble-Coating. The Golden Thief really didn't care, so she opted to do something else; like change into new clothes. The white jumpsuit and the fact she wore it was continuously rushing through her mind. Now that she was reunited with Luffy, she didn't want to wear another pirate's uniform. It was just plain insulting.

"Oy, Jiru-chan." Luffy called over to her. The woman had finished extracting herself from loopy-Sanji's wet claws and turned to her captain. Luffy was dragging his elephant sized backpack across the grass. "I got food, we're eating. Wanna join?"

"Sure, give me a few minutes." Jiru nodded in answer. She turned around to nearly run into Sanji, who had – apparently – recovered from his Nami-breast-induced delusion. The black-suited cook was kneeled in front of her and had taken her hand in his. Her hand was currently covered in fingerling gloves, leaving the tips of her digits uncovered.

"Ah, my Jiru-chwan." Sanji cooed at her. "Please forgive me for startling your humble beauty. I could not contain myself."

"What the crap!" The Golden Thief frowned. Did the idiot cook just call her beauty humble? "You idiot. Watch out when you flail like an idiot beached-fish next time. You soaked my jumpsuit."

"Mellorine…" Sanji's face turned up to meet hers…and he gave her his normal, love-sick puppy look – the one where his eyes became unfocused and glazed over to admire and soak up her feminine beauty. His eye, the Golden Thief corrected herself. Sanji had changed his hair style so that his blonde bangs covered his OTHER eye instead. It was good to finally figure out what was so mind-bogglingly different about him – he simply swapped sides with his long bangs.

"Well, shit." Jiru sighed to herself. Maybe she SHOULD go change clothes, if her white-jumpsuit covered body inhibited its effects on the obviously woman-starved Cook. If Nami's bare chest sent the pervert cook jumping into the ocean while her own face only sent him acting like a love-sick puppy…it was annoying. Her temporary captain would have commented several times on her instead of Nami. "Sanji-kun…"

"Yeeesssssss, my love?" The loopy Cook was drifting away in his own little world.

"Go prepare food for Robin, Nami and the rest. Now."

"Yeeessssssssssssssss, my love, right away!" Sanji rose to his feet and lifted her gloved hand to his mouth, giving it a chaste kiss before prancing away again. Shaking her head in amusement, she moved towards the women's dorm to change into some better clothes.

XXXX

"WAAAAAAAAAAA, PANDA PLUSHIE ATTACK!" Jiru turned around and bashed Zoro with the large panda plushie she had found on her bunk. "YOU MARIMO-idiot! Stop stalking me."

"Hm." The green-haired samurai took the panda-plushie attack and frowned.

It was bound to happen; the Golden Thief thought. Ever since their brief, crazy reunion ten days ago; Jiru figured the horny samurai would want to get her alone and in bed. Well, it wasn't going to happen now, today or even tomorrow or even next week. The treasure hunter was still anxious and hyped up over the many things today threw at her so far, and her mood for intimacy was nill. Being chased by idiot, sword-wielding marines was bad enough; but being caught up in the adrenaline of reuniting with friends after two years was enough to make her thoughts spin around.

"Chibi-chan…" Zoro began.

"NO! I swear to the five oceans, Zoro-kun, I do not want to get laid."

It was five minutes since she left the main deck of the Sunny-gou to change into better, more familiar clothes. Five minutes exact until the samurai had succumbed to his urges and sought her out. She had been keeping a vague count in the back of her head – having seen the looks Zoro had been throwing at her since the Mugiwaras had set sail – under the ocean – from Shaboady shores.

Zoro sighed, brought his hand up to her face and placed it on her head. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry for acting like a jerk back there, and cutting your lovely hair off." Jiru's dark-chocolate hair was been fixed by Shakky's friend, and now was short and feathery in the back, with long strands in the front; her long bangs were teased into lazy spirals and currently pinned against her upper temples. Jiru had long-since removed the black-spotted hat that Law gave her. The hat was in her treasure-holding backpack.

"Um, ok. Apology accepted." The treasure hunter rolled her eyes, and turned back to her clothes drawers. "Now if you don't mind, I want to change clothes."

Having taken the time to re-familiarize herself with the insides of the Sunny-Gou's women's dorm, Jiru had yet to change out of her white-jump suit. It was surprising to see obvious differences; giving evidence that Franky had been very busy on the ship since his return five days prior. There were open-faced square shelves (cubby-holes) alongside the three double bunks. Some of her clothes were in those shelves, which indicated the futon attached was hers – which was odd, given how there were a few new things on the bunk; namely a squishy stuffed panda bear. Searching her brain for the reason of familiarity of that panda plush, Jiru had been surprised when Zoro had come up behind her.

"I'll wait right here, Chibi-san." Zoro glowered, leaning against the wall next to the dorm's door.

"Idiot. I told you, I don't wanna do it."

"Shut up and get dressed."

"Tch, fine; turn around."

The collector waited until Zoro slowly turned around, giving her the view of his back. Then she unzipped her jumpsuit and wriggled out of the arms. It was a good thing that Law hadn't torched ALL her clothes, since her white and blue undershirt and panties covered her flesh. Kicking off the white, stuffy body-suit, she lunged for the closest pair of clothes; only to be drawn back into Zoro's grasp.

"DAMN IT, ZORO! I told you to turn around." She shouted at him as he encircled her with his strong arms.

"I did. You never said to stay like that."

"You're just like HIM." Jiru felt Zoro stiffen in anger.

"HIM? Explain."

"You idiot, I was with the Heart Pirates these past two years. Trafalgar Law is a twisted possessive-control freak. He loved to twist my words." The Golden Thief said with impatience. Zoro said nothing. "Duh. That bastard Kuma defeated us by playing dirty. Using his Repel-power, he sent all of us to different places – I was quick enough to cut that trip short and stayed on Shaboady. I just so happen to land into a fight that Kidd and Law were in. Law claimed me as his nakama."

"Hm." Roronoa grunted; hating what he was hearing. "You could have run away."

"You, you've got some nerve cozening up to me. What; you miss your pink-haired girlfriend, Ghostie-Girl? I know I would if I were you; she was prettier than me."

"It wasn't like that." The samurai growled. Pulling her closer, the swordsman turned her around and grasped her hands. "Since when did you start wearing gloves?"

"Since, like, forever." The two pirates stared at each other, one feeling safety in arguing with the other. Zoro pulled off the gloves and saw her finger tattoos and grunted.

"Leave me alone, jerk." Jiru yanked her hands away from him. A brief flare of shame and embarrassment flashed through her. The letters of 'H.E.A.R.T. T.H.I.E.F.' on her digits gave her a type of marking, proclaiming another crew's name.

"You are mad, tell me why." Zoro wasn't the sharpest person with words; but his intuition was the best. He could read her moods like he read his swords' moods.

"I AM frustrated right now BECAUSE of my feelings for Trafalgar Law."

"Forget about him, Chibi-san. You're back here now."

"It's NOT that easy, you idiot." She grumbled. "I spent two years with the bastard. He tattooed me fingers like this, it's not my fault."

The Golden Thief pulled away from the samurai and gave an aggravated sigh. So much for wearing gloves to hide her fingers; Zoro had seen what Law had done to them and soon the whole crew would. Leaning against the bunk, wearing nothing but her panties and thin-under shirt, she shivered. The environment was growing colder by the minute – most likely because of the water temperature outside the protective bubble coating. They were descending into the briny depths, and the laws of nature stated that cold temperatures sink. (It also didn't help that the further down they went, the less sunlight there was.)

"Why?" The marimo-swordsman asked, stepping up behind her and again wrapping his arms around her.

"Because…" Jiru began saying, bringing a thumb and forefinger to her nose-bridge, the black inked letters flashing in her sight. "I spent the past two years with Law and his crew. He was completely sexy, strong and a complete psycho. You wanna guess how much I've changed?"

Most of the Mugiwaras knew that the Golden Thief was a person who absorbed external habits, like Luffy and his food stealing, or the habit of 'fining' nakama like their navigator was known for. Such a person paired with a blood-thirsty pirate such as the Death Surgeon would have most likely picked up a fair share of nasty or unsettling habits. Having shown one habit minutes before – the physical aggression on the shit-cook – was disturbing. What other things the treasure hunter had learned was only going to get worse.

"Son of a bitch." Jiru suddenly said. Zoro twitched, sensing the same uncanny external warnings as the Reiki-user. "We are about to have unwanted company."

The two Mugiwaras looked at the door and moved for it. Roronoa stopped her and smiled – an honest to god smile; the first Jiru had seen from him in two years and ten days.

"You are not a Heart Pirate anymore, Chibi-san." He spoke evenly. "Get dressed before leaving this room."

The samurai smiled to himself when he closed the door in her face – the audible cursing coming from her was quite impressive. She hadn't changed at all – she was just as feisty when he pushed her buttons. Roronoa Zoro was looking forward to rediscovering the treasure hunter and her newer quirks. He had better inform his captain of the treasure hunter's new markings. Luffy would most likely treat it like a game and overwhelm any negativity she had about the tattoos. It would be interesting to watch.


	11. The Kraken

_Scroll 11: The Kraken_

_"Unbelievable." The Golden Thief said for the fifth time, looking at the long grey table that was the Heart Pirates' eating place. It was filthy and cluttered with dirty plates, silverware and mugs. The table looked like it hadn't had a proper wash in years. "This is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen."_

_"Isn't it, Kin-chan?" Behind her, her temporary captain Trafalgar Law chuckled. "Since your name came up on the kitchen duty list this morning, this wonderful clusterfuck is all yours to deal with."_

_"This is abuse. It has to be." The treasure hunter growled to her new captain. His behavior sent waves of flame across her stomach. "You can't possibly expect me to clean ALL this shit up?"_

_"Indeed I do, Miss Kin-chan." Law stepped up beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "It has been four months and I believe your foot is completely healed. I feel it is time for you to contribute to the greater cause."_

_"You are a sadistic man, Law. Insane and sadistic. Don't your men…your blood-thirsty crew…put their own dishes in the damn washer? Oh, I'm sorry, they can't: because they're too busy cutting out pirate hearts for their equally insane captain. Who, by the way, can't seem to keep his disgusting hands off me."_

_"That they are, Kin-chan. That I am." Trafalgar Law tossed his head back and laughed. The Mugiwara treasure hunter was sharp; enough so that she knew what Law had been doing each night after he had tucked her into her bunk._

_The Heart Pirates had been going out into the night – the dark, scary waters of the Grand Line – and ambushed those pirate ships unlucky enough to be found. Trafalgar Law was planning something wicked and tried to see if he could pull off the stunt without his treasure hunter being the wiser. She was aware of the captain's sick heart fetish, but not the reason behind it._

_The sex between the captain and his treasure hunter was his bizarre way of coping; coping with the need to rip the woman's heart out and store it a secret place. With each passing day, Trafalgar Law grew to know the ins and outs of his new little treasure hunter, and made an effort to stifle his darker, sinister side. After all, it wouldn't do to completely freak her out and completely break her – oh no – Law wanted her bend not break, so she would never get over her drug-like addiction of him. Too many other women before her all went off the deep end when Law held nothing back when around them. It had gotten utterly boring to the point of annoyance when the women he slept with all wanted to be as blood-thirsty as the Surgeon of Death._

XXXXX

Trafalgar Law chuckled to himself as he reminisced on the times he had put his treasure hunter in interesting predicaments. It had been quite a trial to not completely terrorize the Golden Thief. Something about her always made Law feel light-hearted, generous and clean; and nobody had ever made the Surgeon of Death feel like that. Nobody.

It was to that extent that the yellow submarine followed the newly reunited pirate crew known to the world as the Mugiwara Crew. The captain – an idiot too stupid to know just how lucky he was to have the 'Golden Thief' as nakama – was a wanted man, like Law himself. The difference between the two captains was like night and day. Law was the night, and Luffy was the day.

It had been an interesting week; probably the most interesting in six years, trumping the craziness of the Marineford/Whitebeard War two years back. The Dark Doctor shifted his feet on his desk. Law was currently sitting – alone – in his personal office. His wooden desk held his booted feet, and would continue to do so for years.

"Captain?" Bepo's voice came from outside the office door. "Captain, I think you should take a look at this."

"Not now, Bepo." Law opened his mouth to respond to the bear. "I'm not interested."

"Oh, ok. But…there is a kraken attacking the lion-ship." The polar bear spoke on, meaning the ship they were trailing at the moment. The Heart Crew gave the Mugiwaras that mentioned one hour lead in running away. Now Law was following his target; the woman treasure hunter currently on the bubble-coated ship.

"A kraken, you say?" Law leaned back, tilting his swivel chair. "Isn't that interesting; have Higorei draw a picture or something. I'm busy." Law didn't look busy.

"Aye, Aye, Captain!" Bepo most likely saluted and tromped off. Law grinned to himself and clasped his hands behind his head. A Kraken…figures his treasure hunter would be dragged into trouble by that idiot rubber-man. Not that he blamed either one of them. If the Mugiwara Crew came all this way only to be defeated by a sea squirt, then Law would be more than happen to swoop in and plunder the spoils. He knew the first treasure he would take.

"Indeed, my little Silver Queen." Law spoke aloud, to nobody. His smoky black eyes turned away from the ceiling to the few items sitting on his desk. The green-bound journal sat – closed – in the precise center of the wooden surface. Yes, he had stolen his treasure hunter's vaunted journal and would never give it back. It held too much delicious information about his treasure hunter and her mind's workings.

Next to the green book was a hank of braided hair. Law's treasure trove wouldn't be complete without a token of love from his little treasure hunter. It had been Shachi who found it, and the reward had been generous. Trafalgar had given the man a sixty thousand beri bonus for the find and the pirates had celebrated. The hair, dark-chocolate in color, shimmered brown-red in the room's light. It was what was left of the Golden Thief's waist long strands - a project Law had psychologically pushed her into: to see how long her hair could grow.

The Heart pirates had followed their run-away treasure hunter to Grove 13; to the bar which was owned by one of the Dark King's female friends. They had just missed catching the woman, and instead found the infamous pirate and the pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro. It hadn't been much of a fight, since the samurai had been outnumbered. Law hadn't wanted to fight either, and was glad to bully the annoying green-haired pirate away. It was there that the braided hank of hair had been found; spurring the Heart pirates to continue their search after being told where the treasure hunter had gone. They finally caught up with the woman an hour later, and with her hair shorter, much shorter. It was then that Law decided to initiate another devious plan; one that would mess with his little treasure hunter's psyche. Having blazed into action – since the Golden Thief was stupid enough to let her guard down and get attacked – the Heart pirates jumped to her rescue. Law knew she felt indebted to her for saving her life, but never would admit it.

Having to deal with her bloody form was almost enough to send Law's carefully constructed control shattering like glass. It exquisitely erotic for him to see her injured form; writhing and bleeding like a broken doll. Even thinking about it now sent his cock rising.

"My little treasure hunter." Law moaned again. "What are you thinking of right now?"

His thoughts then took him to the next item on his desk; something that had completely surprised him. A slender, silver mask; tarnished and in need of polishing. It was a mask the world knew well, twenty-three years back: it was the face of the Silver Queen, the piratess who was just as infamous and hated as Gol D. Roger. Trafalgar had found it after completely plundering the treasure hunter's bottomless bag of treasure.

"What interesting webs we weave." Trafalgar muttered. The world thought the woman was dead and gone; but Law knew better. His little treasure hunter had revealed it all to him after him had punished her for making a fool of him. It helped to have a dose of hallucinogens handy. She had tried her damned best to resist, but in the end the Dark Doctor had gained full ownership of the treasure hunter and her silly little mind. He knew her more than she knew herself.

"What is your next move, my little Silver Princess?" Trafalgar slid his legs off the desk and leaned forward, steepling his fingers beneath his chin in contemplation. The Surgeon of Death knew his next move and would enjoy her reaction – when they met again in the New World.

XXXXX

_Elsewhere, close-by:_

"Why are you doing that, Usoppu-kun?" Jiru stayed seating at the low-table, munching on the sliced pineapple that Luffy had saved for her, hugging the newest addition to her multi-purpose collection; the medium-sized panda plushie. The treasure hunter had figured out why it looked so familiar: the plushie was within the store that she had escaped Law by setting off a smoke bomb. How it ended up on the Sunny-Gou, she could only wonder. She had changed clothes and returned to the grassy deck to sit at the food table; hugging the thing to her chest since it was so comfortable.

"Do-do-doing what?" The Sniper stuttered in nervousness as he watched the end-of-the-world current outside the ship. The current plunged into an abyssal drop several yards away; its darkness: absolute.

"Stuttering and shaking in fear." The treasure hunter pointedly avoiding look to the two new faces on her left. The new faces were enemies and not worthy of the treasure hunter's attention.

"I'm not stuttering or shaking in fear, my dear Jiru-chan." The sniper saved face as his body ceased shaking and shifted to be tall and proud. "I was shivering in excitement."

"Oh, ok." The treasure hunter smiled at the sniper and went back to her pineapple.

Outside the bubble-coating of the _Sunny-Gou_, a fight was happening. Just how, who, what and why the Monster Trio were fighting in the depths of the ocean was clearly seen. The 'how' was most likely due to the personal coating of soapy membrane. Zoro, Luffy and Sanji were each coated in the iridescent stuff, allowing them to breath and for the DF-user captain: to move around without sinking.

The 'What' or 'Who' was again clearly evident; as the beast was unable to be visually missed even in the inky darkness of the water. Even if Jiru closed her eyes, her ears would pick up the tangible sounds the 'Kraken' was producing. Its sounds registered both audibly and felt through the vibrations in the water. The 'Why' of the fight was deduced from asking a question: the Kraken had attacked the ship.

So now the Sunny-Gou was inching ever closer to the downward current that would most likely take them to the Fishman Island. They would have taken the water-fall stream had not the few chaotic things that happened within the past ten minutes. Jiru had stepped out of the women's dorm; changed into appropriate clothes to see the Sunny-Gou being boarded by enemies.

The other pirates had struck just as the Mugiwaras had approached the massive land shelf that plunged itself into darkness, indicating the way to Fishman Island. The idiot pirates had pushed their bubble-coated ship against the Mugiwara's, and thus proceeded to attack rather lamely; with only two of that crew making it on board before their 'sea-beast' guide had fled.

The offending pirates' sea-beast guide was none other than poor Mo-Moo. When the beast had recognized the Monster Trio, it took off. This action had left the two boarding pirates stranded on the Sunny-Gou.

Those two pirates were now unwanted guests; being tied up and restrained while the Monster Trio fought the Kraken that had decimated the opposing Pirate ship. That's what the dumb attacking pirates got when stupidity met with strength. The pirates had returned; the crew of the ridiculous Moose-head ship shouting for their captain – who would have to be the psychotic-looking man which had boarded earlier. The Golden Thief had refused to acknowledge the other presence, since the doppelganger (Silvers D. Mana) had the nerve to attack her while Luffy was trying to recruit the woman.

Flashback:

_Standing on the grassy deck of the Sunny-Gou, Jiru currently held her face with her hand while Sanji, Luffy, Usoppu, Brooke and Chopper all oogled at her look-alike. It was a good thing Jiru had changed her clothes, because the piratess was wearing a version of the outfit the Golden Thief had been wearing when they first met: jean jacket, pants and blue and red long-sleeve shirt._

_"SMEXY-JIRU-SWAN!" Sanji-idiot was twirling in circles around the aggressive woman; hearts drifting out of the cook's eye, confusing her enough to immobilize her. Luffy was laughing his head off because the woman had Jiru's face. Usoppu was freaking out at the same time over the same think Luffy was excited about. Chopper was hiding behind Usoppu as his reindeer eyes pointedly scanned the attacking woman's face and impressive breasts. Brooke was asking to see her panties while his eye-sockets were glued on her front. The saner parts of the crew –Nami, Zoro, Franky Robin and herself – were stunned. None of them had expected to see their nakama's face on such a finely formed feminine body._

_"WEHHHHHHHHHHHOOOAAA!" Luffy cried as he made a show of looking over the pirate woman. "You look like Jiru! Hay, Jiru, she looks like you; she's got your face! And bewbs! They sure are bigger than yours. Hay, lady, wanna be my nakama?"_

_"Madam, may I see your panties?" Brooke's voice joined the fray._

_"Bastard, Brooke, don't ask her that!" Sanji jumped to the woman's defense. "You, I'll kill you. YES, Luffy make her nakama! I'll be her slave to the day I die!"_

_"But, Ah….I'm already dead. YOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"_

_The Golden Thief finally stopped face-palming herself to look at the stunned Navigator, Shipwright, Historian and Samurai._

_"Hey, don't look at me, Jiru-san. I'm just as lost as you are." A surprised Nami had shrugged back at the treasure hunter. Robin merely recovered her cool and smiled her knowing smile. Franky, however, had lowered his blackened shades to gaze interestingly on the piratess's form._

_"I'm not into skinny babes, but damn, she is quiet a looker." The short-buzz-cut cyborg then turned to Jiru. "I can see you looking like that, Chibi-Sis-chan. She's SUUUPPPA with her breasts!"_

_"No comment." Zoro rolled his eyes as Jiru looked at him. "I'm staying out of this at all costs."_

_"WHY am I not surprised by that, Zoro-kun." Jiru huffed in annoyance, lucky to have her captain between her and the murdering look-a-like._

_"YOU! I'll KILL You, you SKANK!" Mana had screamed, yanking a knife out of her hip-sheath, lunging for Jiru._

_"Whoa, now; don't do that." Luffy had said as he used a rubber arm to restrain the wild woman. Her knife would be useless against the captain. "Why would you want to kill Jiru-chan?"_

_"She ruined my life!" The doppelganger pointed accusingly at the treasure hunter._

_"Really? How?" Luffy asked her._

_"By putting my face on a Wanted Poster!" The blue-eyed woman hissed. "The bastard marines mistook me for THAT SKANK!"_

_The fact that the Mugiwaras had another 'Duval' on their hands sent some of them into a laughing mess. However, the Grand Line had thrown one last surprise at the Mugiwaras before they had crossed into the New World. That surprise was in the form of a Kraken._

XXXXX

So that was the set of crazy events leading up to the Kraken attack. The Moose-head Pirates had come back to rescue their two separated crew, and fell prey to the Kraken's massive tentacles. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro had chosen to go out and 'tame' the kraken, and save their ship.

"Nicely done." Jiru cheered as the Monster Trio soundly defeated the Kraken. Luffy had somehow managed to insert his arm into salt water and use Haki to make his arm huge and black. The Mugiwaras watched as the Kraken fell over on itself.

"Oh shit…" Nami had said. Things went from victorious to hell. The current from the falling Kraken had sucked the Sunny-Gou forward, and into the waterfall current that toppled over the land ridge. The ship was pulled into the current and careened over the lip of the land.

"Luffy!" Jiru screamed over Nami's barking orders as the ship fell over the edge. It was no use calling to the separated Monster Trio, though, as the now-audible current's whoosh became deafening. "SANJI, ZORO!"

Within seconds the Sunny-Gou, the Kraken, the three separated pirates and insane gallons of water were all falling vertically downward into the dark, dark depths.


	12. Abyssal Adventures

**_Scroll 12: Abyssal Adventures_**

Pitch. Dark. Inky. Blackness. There were many other phrases Jiru could think of, yet none of them came close to describing the degree of black outside the ship.

"Uggh. Hello? Anybody still here?" Jiru asked into the darkness of the ship. She innately found herself still on the Sunny-Gou, which was good. She had fallen to her knees during the wild downward ride into the abyss. The downward motion of the ship was exhilarating to experience, and she never wanted to do it again. Her stomach had fluttered into her throat; and Jiru had nearly passed out from the giddiness of the rollercoaster-like drop.

"Whew, it looks like we're all alive…at least." Nami's voice answered hers.

"It's ok, Chibi-sis, we're all here." Franky's voice stated next.

"All of us?" Jiru inquired further. It was impossible to see anyone at the moment. Reaching out with her Reiki, the treasure hunter reassured herself when she felt each of her nakama. Brooke, Franky, Robin, Chopper, Usoppu, Nami and…three were missing: Luffy, Zoro and Sanji – great, just great. Jiru knew in her deepest heart, the three weren't dead, just lost in the impossibly infinite ocean. The Golden Thief felt the same tenseness from Nami and Robin.

"C'mon guys, why the dead silence? Honestly, you'd all be hopeless without me." Usoppu's voice stated from her right. "Who-Whoa, it sure is cold down here."

"I can't seem to find Luffy-senchou and the others." Robin stated finally. "It looks like we lost them. I hope they haven't been torn to pieces by sea monsters."

"DON'T SAY SUCH DAMN GRIM THINGS, ROBIN!" Jiru heard Usoppu shout at the older woman. Sighing as Nami and Usoppu argued in the pure darkness, the Golden Thief lifted herself up from her knees and looked up, gasping.

The view was almost magical. Now that her lagoon-colored eyes became adjusted for the pitch-blackness, she found it wasn't all that dark at all. Tiny lights floated in the ink, creating a breath-taking view. It was like being in outer space, with all the tiny, spread-out lights bobbing and moving in the blackness. Bioluminescence was the factor here and it was spectacular. Jiru felt herself get lost in the aetheric view, wanting to stand there forever and stare. Suddenly, it was all ruined as a beam of light snapped into life behind her.

"What the…?" Turning around and slapping her face with her hand, Jiru groaned with annoyance. "PLEASE tell me you didn't…"

"WHAT KIND OF PLACE FOR A LIGHT IS THAT!" Usoppu was scowling at the cyborg.

"What, Chibi-sis?" Franky turned to her, bathing her figure in the light that was coming from his…man-nipples. "You like my Nipple-Lights?"

"You are a pervert, Franky. That is the crudest thing I've seen you do yet." Her statement sent the shipwright into a fit of laughter.

"That is the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Chibi-Sis-chan!" Franky beamed in pride.

Minutes later, sitting on the bench that wrapped around the bottom of the main mast of the Sunny-Gou, Jiru concentrated deeply to herself. They were currently drifting in the dark sea-bottom currents looking for their missing nakama. If Nami bitched one more time about the Monster Trio not following her directions and using a life-line, Jiru would hit the navigator.

At the helm, Franky was guiding the ship, which was using the eyes of the Lion's figurehead to provide a search light. Thankfully he had turned off his man-nipples, as embarrassing as that was. On the port side (left) Usoppu, Brooke and Chopper were uselessly calling for the missing pirates. The three were racing back and forth calling out:

"SAAAAAAAAANJIIIIIIIIIIII!" Usoppu shouted.

"ZOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRROOOOOO!" Chopper joined the sniper.

"LUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYY-KUUUUN!" Brooke finished.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEE DID YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU GOOOOOOOOOO! COOOOOME BAAAAAAACK!" The trio said together.

"What's the point, Franky, if the Sunny-Gou's eyes don't illuminate that far?" Jiru muttered to herself as she gave up trying to scry the ocean waters for the missing Trio.

"Are you worried about Luffy-senchou, Miss Collector?" Robin asked as she joined the treasure hunter. Jiru stood up and stretched, lifting her coat-covered arms above her head. The temperature had dropped phenomenally and was frigidly cold. The clothes she had changed into early were now not enough to keep her warm. It was a good thing that the treasure hunter had most of her outfits on the Sunny, otherwise the pirate captain who had burned all her clothes would be in huge trouble.

"I'm trying not to be, but I know they aren't dead. I would feel it if they were." She responded; hugging herself to keep warm.

"That is a relief." The Historian smiled gently at the young woman. Jiru nodded to Robin, now fully trusting the woman completely. It was weird how time changed a person's thoughts and views. Spending two years away from the Mugiwaras, Jiru appreciated the Archeologist and her wisdom more.

"WAAHHH, look at the jellyfish. There are HUGE jellyfish above us." Chopper's voice echoed through the emptiness of the ship.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, you're right, Chopper, there ARE huge jellyfish above us." Brooke sang out. "They are glowing! Look Jiru-san, they glow just for you."

"Say what?" She peered at the skeleton. With the dim illumination back-feeding from the lion's head, it was possible to have an environment where things on the deck just visible enough to make it look like clear surface-time night; new quarter-moon.

"The jellyfish are shining; they look like shining stars in the night." The Soul King moved up next to the two women as Jiru stepped away from the mast-bench. Beside them, Robin chuckled once again at the skeleton's words.

"Brooke…I…don't get you at all." Jiru stated flatly.

"Yohohohoho, there is nothing of me to get, Miss Jiru-san." Dead Bones chortled. "I'm all bones!"

"Be nice, Jiru, seriously." Usoppu scolded her as she joined him. Behind the treasure hunter, Brooke was lying on the dark deck, nursing his punched stomach; the treasure couldn't reach up to hit his head. "At this rate we're not going to make any progress in searching for Luffy and the others."

"Don't stop the ship, we cannot over look a single thing!"Nami's orders barked again. "Keep your eyes alert."

"OOOOOOOOOOHHHHH." Chopper's voice made her turn around to see him. "Look, one of the jelly fish slipped in. Does that mean it wants to be friends?"

"NO!" Robin and Jiru said together. One of the low-glowing tentacles had slipped inside the bubble-coating and waggled at Chopper.

"Don't touch it, Chopper." Robin spoke on. "It's probably poisonous!" The jellyfish now had the crew's attention, as it was carefully engulfing the ship.

"Well, that's just fantastic. Franky, are you going to let the jellyfish hug our ship to death?" Jiru asked the shipwright through the darkness.

"Don't get your panties in a knot, Chibi-Sis-chan. COUP DE BURST!" Franky's quick response probably saved all of them the hassle of removing the too-friendly jellyfish the size of who knew what. The ship jolted forward, which was miraculous because behind them – in the spot they just were in – a bigger fish had come along and chomped down on the offending jellyfish.

"Waaaaah, that jellyfish got eaten!" Chopper exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"It's better than us getting eaten." Brooke stated. "Ahhh, the burst, it lessened the ship's air a bit."

"Holy crap…" Usoppu's eyes bugged out as the huge fish nommed on the jelly-tastic critter.

"So the jellyfish had nerve toxins after all." Robin murmured.

"Great, just fantabulous." Jiru muttered to nobody as the jellyfish-nomming fish turned belly up.

"THE DEEP SEA IS DARK AND SCARY AND DARK…" Chopper stuttered aloud. "THERE ARE A LOT OF WHITE-EYED FISH AROUND TOO, IT'S CREEPY.

The treasure hunter ignored Chopper's rants and sighed to herself, walking back to the main-mast's bench. Searching for the Monster Trio in black-waters was highly difficult. Having to dodge jellyfish, ship-eating fish and god knew what else in the waters made the search impossible. She placed her forehead against the strong, cool wood; refusing to panic yet. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were out there, somewhere, floating in their bubble-coating…running out of breathable air.

"The deep sea is a world of darkness, so there exists many creatures whose eyes have become vestal, evolved for blindness." Brooke toned behind her. Jiru turned around and snorted out a laugh. The skeleton was pointing his black, hollow eye sockets at her – or so she thought – as his dully gleaming hands bones lifted a teacup to his face. "Ah, you wonder how I see without eyes, you ask? That is a secret."

"Uh…" The skeleton looked so much less scary than when Jiru first met him way back – during the T-Bark adventure. His orange boa and heart-shaped glasses took the edge off the creepy; not to mention the goofiness of the large gold crown-hat. "Are you talking to me or yourself, Brooke-san?"

"Eh?" Brooke didn't answer her question, but held up ropes in the dull light. "These ropes? Excuse me, everyone." Brooke announced. "That gentlemen pirate and the lady pirate are missing."

"Ah, now that you mention it, I haven't seen them recently." Usoppu joined the skeleton and treasure hunter. "I completely forgot about them!"

"I haven't seen them since we entered Deep Sea." Robin noted as she moved into sight. "Maybe they fell off the ship in the downward current."

"Pfft, I hope she did fall off the ship." The Golden Thief scoffed. "She was crazy, trying to kill me."

"Wow, Jiru-san, somebody's pissy." Ussopu sighed. "This is just great, if they are still on the ship, then we not only have to still look for Luffy and the others, but to keep our guards up on our own ship!"

"Eeeewww, they still might be on the ship, hiding?" Nami blanched. "That's disgusting."

"Well, what does it matter?" Franky's voice came from the upper level. "They didn't look at all strong."

"But one of them was DUDE, Franky-bro." Jiru turned towards his voice. "He's probably a stalker, pervert or something like that. He looked freaky."

"…" Franky didn't answer her.

"Are you listening to me, Franky…damn it. I hate talking in the pure darkness, I need to see who I'm talking to." Jiru hissed more.

"Found him." Franky said as he attacked a barrel, using the ropes Brooke had and producing nails and boards to secure the top and bottom of the barrel.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS." A voice came from within the barrel Franky had attacked. "YOU SONS OF BITCHES, LET ME OUT!"

"That should do the trick." The shipwright finished trapping whatever was trapped inside the barrel.

"What'd…you do?" Brooke asked before she could. "How'd he get inside the barrel?"

Brooke and Franky stepped into her view; being illuminated very vaguely by the frontal light of the Sunny-Gou. The two tall males stepped nearer to her; causing her to lift herself on a Reiki-pad to be on their levels. Curse her instinctual reactions and fumbling in the darkness – it would hurt if Franky tread on her foot or something.

"No worries, Chibi-Sis-chan." The blue-haired cyborg grinned to her – the facial act was lost in the darkness. "He must have a DF ability…and a Logia-type at that. He only feigned being hurt from our attacks earlier; getting captured on purpose. It was all an act. We let our guards down too, but if he wasn't such an idiot, we would have been in huge trouble. He melted his body down to become mud-like and lost his original shape."

"Oh?" Jiru lifted a brow towards Franky's voice – another facial act lost in the darkness. "You're really sharp, Aniki-san, how'd you see that he was in the barrel? I can't see jack-sh*t in this darkness."

"Ah." Franky managed to look abashed, and put a hand behind his head in embarrassment. "I have built-in night vision in my eyes."

"Say whaaaat?"

"Night vision…" The hulking cyborg repeated. "I can see in pitch blackness like this; but everything is tinted in green."

"Oh, that's really handy."

"You're too nice, Chibi-Sis-chan." Franky laughed openly and placed his extended smaller hand on her head. "You're also really smart yourself." The floating treasure hunter brushed off the mechanical hand and shifted in her invisible seat.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Aniki-san." She retorted; but smiled anyway. Suddenly, the heat seemed to close in from everywhere.

"HAY, LET ME OUT, MISTER BIKINI PANTS. LOVELY WOMAN, I'LL BE YOUR SLAVE!" The mud-man's voice howled from within his restrained barrel. "I'LL BE YOUR SLAVE NAAAAOOOOOW!"

"That…is…disgusting…" Jiru blanched and turned away from the barrel.

"Uuunnnnnnggghhh." Chopper's voice sounded from behind them. "It's no good, I'm so hot."

"Eh, what's wrong, Chopper?" Franky stepped away from Jiru and Brooke, walking over to where the reindeer was supposedly. Jiru followed, wriggling in the sudden, oppressive muggy heat that seemed to increase by the moment.

"I don't know…" the Reindeer responded. "But I'm really hot all of a sudden."

"Hhmm I agree, it's suddenly way too hot…" Jiru whimpered and remained sitting on her Reiki pad. She removed her fleece-like jacket and threw it behind her. The jacket was followed by her shoes, socks two layers of shirts and undershirt. "What is going on?"


	13. Anglers and Volcanoes

**_Scroll 13: Anglers & Volcanoes_**

"SMOKE!" Nami cried, giving Jiru her answer.

"What!? Holy cow!" Usoppu replied, leaning against the railing of the Sunny-Gou. The Sniper was, like the treasure hunter, sloughing off his keep-the-body-warm layers of clothing.

The water, once dark-cold and negative visibility; was now shimmering in the boiling heat. Jiru could see the smoke racing upwards through the water; which was subtly backlit by low red illumination. The view was rather intriguing and terrifying at the same time.

"PLEASE tell me the ship isn't on fire or has some fish out there has spontaneously combusted." She drifted over to Franky and the steering wheel. The red illumination was growing by the second, and contributed to the overall visibility.

"How could you even think that, Chibi-Sis?" the shipwright asked her. "There is no way that my ship would burst into flames."

"Then why else would there be smoke this heavy and fast-moving this deep down in the oce-" The treasure hunter's mind worked at a faster speed than her mouth: allowing the female to briefly think of the other missing pirates/prisoner and her possible arsonist revenge for trapping her nakama in a barrel. "What if that crazy-chick set fire to the ship!?"

"No!" Franky looked at her, astounded. The incredulous look in his eyes told her just how much he feared her line of thought.

"They are hydrothermal-mineral deposits!" Nami answered everyone's confused questioning. "We've drifted down into a deep-sea 'volcanic-region'."

Indeed, the navigator was right. The Mugiwara crew looked out into the red-tinted water and overboard. It was a view like none other; Raleigh's bubble-coating job held up, it seemed, fore just this very moment of breath-taking awe. The ocean floor – besides from being red-tinted and distorted from heat – was active and alive. Everything from giant crabs whose colors were overlaid by the heat-induced red, to un-measurably large starfish slowly moving along at a snail's pace, to sea cucumbers the size of who knew what fleeing from other slow-moving predators were on the ocean's bottom. It was a view so fantastic enough to warrant a multi-billion beri documentary – too bad none of the Mugiwaras where there for that.

"Oh that's just fan-tastic!" Jiru muttered as she sat back on her air-pad. She watched as Franky set into action, steering away from the now visible gigantic vents. "Just how are we going to find Luffy and the others in this smog?"

The pirates all looked over the ship's railings as Franky steered their course through the hydrothermal vents. It was quite a view to see just what was down below.

Besides the humungous steam-spitting jets, there were a multitude of white tubes that had to be tubeworms – the biggest Jiru had or ever will see – several large white-carapaced crabs, lobsters and other miscellaneous round life forms that live of the ocean's bottom; enough of a variety that she was unable to put a name to each one. The ocean floor itself looked more like a rocky slope of a mountain than the gritty sandy bottom she was used to. It was slightly eerie to watch the whole scene pass by as Franky drove the ship onward. The red-illumination overtone gave the sea-bottom a hellish pall.

Then there were the hydrothermal vents; five titanic, jutting slender volcanoes rising up from the floor; each one a breach in the planet's crust, giving a straight shot to the planet's godly hot core. The heat rising from the vents boiled the water around it, thus giving the distorted, something on fire look to the world. Then the life-forms on the very sides of the vents drew the pirates' attention. Huge white and ugly tubeworms were wriggling towards the Sunny-Gou.

"There are traces of activity here." Nami informed them.

"By activity, you mean, like…erupting volcanoes?" Jiru was fanning herself with her hand, and attempting to lessen the muggy heat by rolling her pant legs up. "Or the ship-eating tubeworms?"

"If any of those vents erupt, they we'll all die!" Franky growled out. "I'm getting us out of here by using another Coup De Burst."

"Bro, better Coup fast, those tubeworms are hungry for the Sunny-Gou." Jiru had made it over to Chopper, and held him on her lap. The poor reindeer was panting like a dog, and lethargic. Looking over the railing, she and Chopper yelped as several wriggling, quite large and carnivorous tubeworms were moving towards them.

"On it, sis." The shipwright replied.

"That was another close call." Nami sighed after the Thousand Sunny managed to put distance between them and hydrothermal vents' environment. Frankie had used a barrel of cola for a Coup De Burst, and now, the danger was behind them. Their eyes were now readjusting to the dark once more; even though the red-tinged heat wasn't that luminous of a light.

"Indeed." Brooke spoke up from the lower deck. "It was getting hot. If it had gotten any hotter, I bet you ladies would have started showing me your panties."

"Look, there's another light ahead." Usoppu announced, interrupting whatever the treasure hunter was going to say to the skeleton. "What do you think it is?"

The pirates aimed to look at whatever Usoppu was seeing. Indeed there was a light ahead, and unlike the red vents behind them, this light looked like a white searchlight.

"Is it Luffy and the others?" Nami inquired.

"Maybe it's another ship!?" Chopper squeaked and shifted in Jiru's arms. "The light is so bright."

"Or maybe it's the light at the end of the tunnel." Robin stated evenly, causing Jiru and Nami to look at the woman with raised brows.

"Sick, that's sick, Robin-chan." Jiru murmured. "You're one grim-dark chick, Robin."

"I'll signal the light with my own!" Franky stated from behind her.

"I really don't want to know…" The treasure hunter registered a blinking bright light silhouetting her from behind. Palming her face with dramatic annoyance, she decided to quit her float pad and touched her feet on the deck.

"Would you quit using that crude method!" Usoppu shouted at the blinking lights.

"Go figure." The treasure hunter muttered as Chopper moved out of her arms. Now that the volcanic vents were behind them, the stifling heat was lessening, like a downward curve of a wave. "Well now that terrible heat is behind us, let's focus on looking for Luffy and the others."

"What is that light? It's still getting closer and brighter." Chopper asked as he leaned over the railing.

"Well, whomever is throwing that light off has to be stupid enough to know that it'll ruin the dark-time vision." Jiru muttered to the crew. "Talk about being blinded by science."

The underwater traveling Sunny-gou quickly came upon the light and its source. It was a huge, larger than life Sea-Angler! The thing was ugly as heck and now had them dead-set in its eyes.

"Oh gods, no…" Jiru whimpered to herself as she felt her knees turn to jelly. "I'm not looking. I'm not looking at it."

"Jiru-?" Usoppu called out. "What's wrong?"

Ignoring the others, the treasure hunter moved backwards until she felt her back contact the main mast. She wasn't going to even pretend to be brave against something that large. The rest of the Mugiwaras had to know that; they had to know of her fear of something so titanically large that it boggled the mind. The sea angler was the size of OZ!

"Quick, use another burst, Franky." Nami shouted out.

"It's no good." The shipwright replied.

Jiru gritted her teeth and growled. Luffy was MIA and the ship was endangered by a stupid sea-angler the size of Oz – she could do this. The treasure hunter could step up and possibly protect the ship from becoming fish food. She would protect this crew, make sushi out of the too-big fish AND keep some to feed Luffy when he was found. Yes, that would impress the missing trio: protect the ship, give the cook fresh exotic ingredients and feed her captain.

"I got it." She said weakly. Stepping away from the mainmast and towards her fear of mind-boggling-ly large things; the treasure hunter looked away from the angler's antennae light and at the fish itself.

"Go get it, Jiru!" Chopper cheered her from the left. The reindeer saw the look on her face and knew she meant business. However, before Jiru could play any move, something else appeared that made her wet herself in mindless denial.

Up from behind the illuminated fish something else stepped into view; something that dwarfed the sea-angler to the size of…her brain couldn't process an appropriate analogy. The massive person was standing high over the floating fish, looking at it like a person might look at a pet. She felt herself experience a wash of ice-cold euphoria before turning on heel, clenching her fists tightly against her hips and marching to hide behind the main mast. Ignoring the concerned calls of her friends, crouching down to place her head in her curled legs, Jiru refused to acknowledge the problem the Mugiwaras now had.

Where was Luffy when she needed him the most?


End file.
